Showing posts with label 1986. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1986. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2016
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
Thursday, October 17, 2013
REVIEW: Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China
Director: John Carpenter
Year 1986
Big Trouble in Little China is a wild
genre hybrid that is a whole hell of a lot of fun. Directed by the
legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter and starring the
ridiculously charismatic Kurt Russell, this action adventure barrels
headlong into cinematic bliss with an overabundance of character,
wonder, and genuine laughs. Tremendously self-aware of its indulgent
nature for Chinese mythology and the imaginative imagery that comes
with it, Big Trouble in Little China sets the gold standard for all
adventure romps, especially ones that put fun in the forefront.
Kurt Russell takes on the iconic role
of Jack Burton and like his portrayal of Snake Plissken in Escape from New York, he simply owns the character. Hot tempered, quick
witted, and extremely scene stealing, Russell gives Jack Burton that
added charismatic depth which propels this vividly portrayed
character into instant classic status. A cult figure for the ages,
Jack Burton is as brash as they come and Russell defines the actions
of this loudmouth braggart to perfection. This film wouldn't be
nearly as enjoyable as it is without the presence of Russell's expert
timing and cool as hell personality. If there is anything that the
world needs more of, it is Kurt Russell, and his performance in Big
Trouble in Little China is one for the ages.
Supporting Russell's excellent
performance is an equally enthralling display by an extremely gifted
cast of character actors. Kim Cattrall takes on the role of Gracie
Law, a nosey investigative reporter who finds herself way over her
head when taking on Lo Pan and company. Cattrall is wonderfully sassy
in the role and she's never looked better. Legendary character actor
Victor Wong plays the role of Egg Shen, the elderly but fully capable
wizard who has waged a life-long battle against the forces of evil.
Wong is such an inspiration in this role as he chews the scenery up
every time he appears on screen. His performance is so compelling and
especially genuine. Another heavy hitter is James Hong as the
infamous David Lo Pan, the centuries-old sorcerer with a penchant for
girls with green eyes. Hong has a lot of heavy lifting to do in this
duel role, for he plays both the old and young version of Lo Pan.
Each iteration of the sorcerer is demanding in itself, and the makeup
effects and character designs for his various looks are extremely
vivid and outlandishly game-changing. Last but definitely not least
is Dennis Dun as he takes on the memorable role of Wang Chi. I've
always enjoyed Dun's work be it his scene-stealing performance in
Prince of Darkness or his contributions to The Last Emperor, but in
Big Trouble in Little China he over-shines both roles. He's a sadly
under-appreciated actor, but in my eyes he's reached cult status and
with good reason.
With a cast like that, how could you go
wrong, and John Carpenter makes good use of their multiple talents.
The action is fierce and the banter between characters is even more
engaging, emphasizing greatly that this film is all about an
abundance of fun. From the martial arts action to the over the top
mythical and mystical elements of the script, Carpenter throws
everything he has at his audience, all in the name of entertainment.
The end result of all of this over-indulgence is a rip-roaring thrill
ride that never worries about going off the rails, but rather
delights in the unusual and unexpected. As Carpenter delves deeper
into the otherworldly elements of Chinese lore, he ramps up the fun
factor of the flick, introducing one wild character after another
until we're knee deep in some of the most fascinating of ensemble
casts.
The name of the game here is adventure,
and Big Trouble in Little China has that in copious quantities.
Elemental warriors, kung-fu soldiers, a wild beast-man, and a
floating head with multiple eyeballs are just some of the weird and
wild characters that you'll come across in this flick. Designed in
unique and unorthodox ways, Carpenter has pulled from a large iconic
pool of cult imagery throughout Asian cinema and has crafted
something that is full-on fantasy with a Carpenter twist, and it gels
to perfection. Combined with his impeccable anamorphic lens and
distinct atmospheric soundtrack, Carpenter has crafted a genre
mash-up for the ages. Its got action, comedy, adventure and a little
bit of romance, but what really helps it all propel into classic
status is the outstanding cast of character actors that truly bring
it all to life.
Big Trouble in Little China is truly a
classic film. Never shying away from its ridiculous premise, the
production relishes in the absurd and otherworldly. Mythologies and
ancient lore collide in a cornucopia of vividly portrayed characters
and mythical beasts, making for a film that never truly stops
entertaining until the credits finally begin to crawl. Told in the
most expressive of ways, Carpenter relies on the validity of his
actors and their outstanding performances to craft the genuine nature
of the story. Kurt Russell is the epitome of cool in the iconic role
of Jack Burton, while Dennis Dun, Kim Cattrall, Victor Wong, James
Hong, and the rest of the cast come right in step to compliment the
film's abundant style.
Without a doubt, it is the film's
expertly balanced combination of eye catching imagery, astounding
atmospheric locations, and tremendously executed effects that really
take it over the top in quality and presentation. Topped off with
John Carpenter's own original and typically engrossing score for the
film and you've got yourself a recipe for a cult classic. Big Trouble
in Little China wears its heart on its sleeve and it is a love letter
to China's ancient lore and storied cinematic past. Extremely
enjoyable and fun to the last, Big Trouble in Little China is a cut
above the rest in almost every department. If you're searching for a
film that truly takes you on an unexpected adventure, then you owe it
to yourself to hunt down this most treasured flick. Big Trouble in
Little China is.....
| Quit showing off Egg. |
| These guys are just too cool for school. |
| The Three Amigos! |
| Come to Butthead. |
| Kurt Russell is a god! |
| Egg is even captivating when he eats. |
| You ok over there little buddy? |
| Kurt Russell can get a little too forceful with the piggy-back rides. |
| Hey! Your gun is bigger than mine! |
| That's no gun.... This is a GUN! |
| Lo Pan is a straight pimp. |
| What do you think Egg? There sure are a lot of ugly people in the audience today. |
| BARF! |
| This dude just plain kicks ass! |
| Lo Pan is a Jedi? No way! |
| It was just then that Kurt realized he was deathly afraid of golden buddha statues. |
| It's time to blow this popsicle-stand.... Literally! |
Monday, October 7, 2013
REVIEW: The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch
Director: Robert Young
Year 1986
The Worst Witch is a ridiculously silly
made for TV movie which celebrates the season of Halloween with
reckless abandon and obscure wonder. Headlined by a surprisingly
notable cast, this haunted holiday romp makes no efforts in hiding
its absurdity, and in that unabashed approach it thrives. With
grandiose musical montages, terribly dated effects, and over-acted
performances, The Worst Witch is probably the most entertaining and
outrageous Halloween themed TV movie in existence, and that is why it
has been a tradition in my household to watch it at least once every
October.
Fairuza Balk takes on the role of
Mildred Hubble, the dubbed “Worst Witch” and she does a great job
with the unusual material. Being no stranger to the obscure, seeing
that she starred in the overtly strange and wonderfully brilliant
Return to Oz, Balk settles right in to the role as she makes an
endearing turn as the titular witch. Naive, innocent, and somewhat
aloof, Balk's portrayal of Mildred Hubble is an engaging one, filled
with many sympathetic moments and adventurous scenarios. For being so
young, Balk does a tremendous job in keeping up to pace with the rest
of her adult cast and that is a great feat considering the plethora
of talent on hand.
Surrounding Balk's central role is an
assortment of memorable characters and iconic actors, all bringing
their own special touches to the feature. Diana Rigg of The Avengers
fame takes on the role of Miss Constance Hardbroom, the intimidating
and no nonsense instructor with a heart of ice. Charlotte Rae does
double duty as a pair of twin witches named Miss Cackle and Agatha
Cackle. The contrast between these two characters are like night and
day, as Miss Cackle is kind and soft spoken while Agatha is something
of a loud mouth slob. Rae does a magnificent job balancing the two
and both iterations are highly entertaining. Lastly, and definitely
not least, is Tim Curry as The Grand Wizard, a famous sorcerer with a
penchant for theatrics. Being a long time fan of Curry's work, I have
to say that his appearance in this movie is without a doubt my
favorite part of the flick. As The Grand Wizard, Curry is outrageous
and particularly nutty and I wouldn't want it any other way.
As for the overall package of The Worst
Witch, the film has a plentiful array of interesting aspects going
for it. Though it is obviously low budget and made for TV, it still
has a tremendous charm to it, allowing for the quirky details of the
production to solidify it as an entertaining slice of holiday fun.
The school for witches in particular is filled with outlandish ideas
and silly curriculum which seem prophetic in their relation to the
Harry Potter series. Obviously someone must have been paying
attention to this little made for TV movie when culling ideas for
their lucrative book series, I'm looking at you J.K. Rowling!
The particular appeal of this obscure
gem is its saturated Halloween style. Immersed in the holiday, the
film thrives on all things that make the Halloween season so much
fun. Cauldrons, witches, spells, mischief, it's all there and the
film celebrates it with great fun and substantial silliness. The
effects, though ridiculously dated, are what makes up the film's most
enjoyable aspects as we are graciously gifted with one of the most
extremely unusual music videos in the form of Tim Curry and one of
the most wackiest green screen projections on the planet. Seriously,
if you haven't seen this segment from the movie, then just stop
reading this and search it out online as soon as possible. You have
to see it to believe it. All in all, The Worst Witch is great holiday
fun with a stupendous cast and an extremely weird sense of humor.
The Worst Witch is without a doubt, one
of my most favorite of holiday specials. Admittedly idiotic, yet
ridiculously fun, this low key effort embraces the Halloween spirit
and just runs with it. Stooped in sub-par effects and drowning in
cheesy performances, it is a made for TV feature that shouldn't be
missed.
Fairuza Balk embodies the hopelessly
clumsy witch Mildred Hubble, and her innocent performance and
genuinely sympathetic turn gives a great deal to the enjoyability of
the flick. Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rae, and Tim Curry are absolutely
wild in their individual roles, with Curry taking the cake as the
most absurd and watchable. Though his appearance is little more then
a glorified cameo, he still leaves a lasting impression on the
overall film, which will stay with you long after. As a yearly staple
in my personal Halloween viewings, I can't recommend this one enough.
Maybe you need the nostalgia factor to get you through something like
this or maybe it can only appeal to someone who is a child at heart,
but even if you don't factor into either of these categories you have
to admit that this production is off the wall bonkers. To me, that's
all I need on a cold October night. The Worst Witch is.....
| Miss Hardbroom thinks you are a LOSER! |
| Stand in awe at the film's unbelievable special effects! |
| I think Miss Cackle is up to something. |
| Agatha hates close-talkers. |
| Shit! It's one of those Harry Potter street gangs! |
| You are the Worst Pig. |
| Best... Photo... EVER! |
| Miss Hardbroom is about to smack a bitch! |
| Miss Hardbroom... you're so crazy! |
| Witch-School Staring Contest..... GO! |
| If I saw this flying through the air, I'd shit my pants. |
| This picture is.... HAIRY... SCARY.... CREEPY.... CRAWLY! |
| Mildred Hubble, the saddest witch in the world. |
| Oh my goodness! Looks like someone left a little poo on the counter. |
| Agatha is evil, wicked and cruel...... Don't forget psychotic! |
| Probably the greatest ending ever! Just saying. |
Sunday, August 11, 2013
REVIEW: Maximum Overdrive
Maximum
Overdrive
Director:
Stephen King
Year
1986
Maximum
Overdrive is a ridiculously fun and entertaining film which blends
horror, action, comedy and science fiction, into one total package
which thrills to no end. Directed by the legendary horror novelist
and first-time filmmaker Stephen King, the movie takes an airy
approach to the material, opting to engage in a campy interpretation
of some rather extraordinary events. Basking in a tongue in cheek
attitude, yet played entirely serious, Maximum Overdrive is a curious
gem which goes against the grain and the stereotype of its famous
author and creator. In its unorthodox approach the film plunges
forward into a mad-cap world filled with interesting characters,
otherworldly situations, and absurdly dark filled humor. As Stephen
King's one and only attempt at film-making, I have to say that he
came and went with one hell of a bang.
The film
opens to a string of strange events where machines begin to rise up
and attack their human creators. Coinciding with the appearance of a
mysterious rogue comet which is passing the Earth, the planet is
suddenly and violently thrown into chaos as man and machine clash,
sending humans on a crash course to extinction. Surrounded by an army
of various vehicular monstrosities, a small group of survivors hold
up in a truck stop as they desperately try to come to terms with
these most unexpected turn of events. Armed with their wits and a few
surprises in the form of fire-power, the motley group band together
in order to survive this nightmarish reality. A reality where
creations hunt their creators.
Emilio
Estevez plays the role of Bill Robinson, a troubled youth whose
rotten job at a gas station is about to get a whole hell of a lot
worse. Estevez is exceptionally great in this role as he plays off of
the campy elements of the film with sincere affection and validity.
Bare in mind that there is nothing Oscar worthy in his performance,
but it is the sheer fact that he gives the material respect and
injects a sense of fun into the proceedings without bogging it down
with the usual camp trappings and unintentional winks to the
audience. He is immersed and engaged in this world through and
through, and it does wonders for allowing the viewer to get wrapped
up in all of the shenanigans and come along for the ride. Estevez
plays a great underdog in the flick and his enthusiasm helps to up
the fun factor tremendously, without pushing the movie and his
performance into camp territory.
Of
course this is not a one man show and the assortment of characters
that inhabit this movie are as diverse as they are amusing. Laura
Harrington plays Brett, a drifter who just so happens to be at the
truck stop the very instant the shit hits the fan. She's feisty and
highly capable, and her role in the film is quite a substantial one
as she is paired with Estevez's character as the story begins to
escalate. Another great paring of the flick is Yeardley Smith and
John Short as the newlyweds, Connie and Curtis. These two are a riot,
as they bicker and react to all that is going on, often plunging into
some rather comical and memorable moments. It was also interesting to
see Short's Curtis character grow, from a quiet and conservative guy
with a nagging wife, to a daring badass, of course also with a
nagging wife. The rest of the cast is equally impressive with Pat
Hingle playing the scumbag owner of the truck stop Bubba Hendershot,
Ellen McElduff taking on the role of the spirited waitress Wanda
June, Christopher Murney playing the sleazy salesman Camp Loman, and
Holter Graham taking on the role of the young heroic kid Deke Keller.
All in all, it's not hard to see why this movie is so damn enjoyable
and the cast nail their roles to perfection.
As for
the tone and atmosphere of the film, it is a mixture of foreboding
moments and whimsical adventure. Stephen King infused the soundtrack
of the movie with the very distinct sound of the rock band AC/DC,
giving the production a strangely catchy soundscape to display its
carnage and comically infused antics against. It is an unusual
mixture that I'm sure isn't for everyone, but for myself I found the
combination to be extremely entertaining and tons of fun. In fact the
soundtrack is so vivid against the imagery in this film that I find
myself replaying the movie in my head whenever certain AC/DC songs
come on the radio. With this whimsical approach, you lose a great
deal of horror from what is essentially a horror driven story, but in
the end the added absurdity only amplifies the charm of the movie.
The main
location of the film, centered around the truck stop, is also another
asset of the production. I've always been a fan of George Romero's
original Night of the Living Dead and the fact that an ensemble cast
of characters are trapped in a farmhouse surrounded by the walking
dead, and essentially we have that same plot playing out in Maximum
Overdrive. Instead of zombies though, we have massive trucks and
various machines attempting to overcome our main characters, and I
thoroughly enjoyed that interesting twist on the genre staple. The
combination of that and the added dark humor of the film is enough to
get my attention, and when you add that with the extremely realized
characters of the movie you've got yourself the perfect ingredients
for one hell of a good time.
Maximum
Overdrive is a demented amalgam of genre film elements that combine
to make an irresistible hybrid flick that entertains more than it
horrifies. Unique and unfaltering, this obscure gem opts to tread
lightly on the horror aspects of its story and instead focus on its
more outlandish and diverse world. With its Rock interlaced
soundtrack and adventurous nature, Maximum Overdrive comes off as a
sci-fi adventure more than anything and that's alright by me. Having
not read the short story, Trucks, that it is based on, I had no
preconceived ideas on what the movie should or shouldn't have been,
allowing for me to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
What
really makes this film work though is the inclusion of a highly
capable cast that is as colorful as the movie's premise. As the film
veers from its horror origins, it relies on its lively characters to
take the reigns and steer it to its course, and from that perspective
it succeeds tremendously. Across the board the cast carries the film,
as the story focuses on their trials and tribulations as they
struggle to survive this most unusual turn of events. It is a
peculiar choice on director Stephen King's part, seeing that he is an
almost exclusively horror-centric writer, but in my opinion the
gamble paid off for I am always and will forever be enthralled with
this camp classic. Maximum Overdrive is without a doubt.....
| What are you looking at weirdo? |
| God NO! Not her melons! Not her beautiful melons! |
| What do you think you're doing you little shit? WE MADE YOU!!!! |
| Now that's a crotch shot! |
| Your hat looks stupid. Look who's talking. |
| The crew couldn't stand how Emilio sipped his tea. |
| And so began Emilio's life long fear of clowns. |
| Hey! Fuck you too buddy! |
| Say hello to Bubba's big friend! |
| Curtis! I have to take a pee!!!!! |
| So that's where all the powdered donuts went you little sneaks. |
| Who knew that Wanda June was a fan of opera? Sing it girl! |
| Yeeeehaawwww!!! |
| Bubba sure does love him some rockets. |
| This guy is a real prick! |
| Damn! That goblin truck needs some Visine Drops. |
| I would kill to see this price the next time I get gas! |
| Well there goes the neighborhood. WE MADE YOU!!!!!! |
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