Thursday, March 15, 2007
SEE 300 !
If you're a fan of Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300, then don't even bother reading this and go see the movie. Now. Chances are good, if you're a fan, you already saw it. So go see it again.
For those who aren't familiar with 300, it began as a five-issue miniseries that Miller (the writer and artist who also gave us the SIN CITY comics, and co-directed the SIN CITY movie) did for Dark Horse comics. It's based on the historical Battle of Thermopylae, which happened in 480 BC, where 300 Spartans, led by King Leonidas, took a stand at "the Hot Gates" pass in Thermopylae in ancient Greece and held off hundreds of thousands of soliders (in the movie, they say a million) which made up the invading Persian army, led by Xerxes, who claimed to be a living god. First published in 1998. Miller, a gifted stylist (along with his regular colorist Lynne Varley), took the basic story and put his personal spin on it. It is a brutal war story, highlighting the discipline and ferocity of the Spartans, who claimed to be direct descendents from the mythical hero Hercules.
Miller's graphic novel has very powerful visuals, and the movie version of 300, by director Zack Snyder (who previously gave us the remake of George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD) does a pretty amazing job of bringing the comic book to vibrant life. This is easily one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in a long time. All of the locations were created using the green screen process, which I'm not always a fan of, but it really works here, giving a dream-like quality to the film.
The plot is simple enough, and, after a brief preamble, jumps back and forth between Leonidas and the battle, and the political machinations back in Sparta where Leonidas's wife, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headley), attempts to circumvent a conspiracy to undermind her husband's government.
The movie does not compromise on the violence and there are also some sex scenes, giving 300 a well-deserved R-rating (a nice break from the usual Hollywood PG-13 pablum), but the scenes of war, while brutal, are also very stylish, with sprays of blood looking more like splashes of paint. This truly looks like a painting come to life.
The acting is a little over the top, but this is done on purpose and works well in the context of the film. Gerard Butler does a great job as the charismatic Leonidas, and it seems believable that an army would follow him to its death.
It is amazing that the film earned $70 million in its first weekend, breaking lots of box office records. For a violent R-Rated film, this is unheard of. The last time this happened and we had a gory blockbuster, it was THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, but that had a built-in audience because of its religious subject matter (hell, I just liked the gore).
There has been some political chatter about the film, with people questioning whether Leonidas is meant to be a stand-in for President Bush (other people think Bush is more like Xerxes), but Miller wrote the comic almost a decade ago, and it was a direct result of his interest in the historical battle, which was also filmed in the 1962 movie, The 300 Spartans, which Miller enjoyed as a kid. While Miller does his own artistic take on the historical facts, I find it a stretch to say the graphic novel or the movie has a clear political agenda.
After years of being an icon in the comics industry, first with his work on Marvel's DAREDEVIL (during which time Miller created the character of Elektra - too bad the movies that seem to have been inspired by his tenure on the comic - the Ben Affleck Daredevil film and its spinoff Elektra film - are such crap), then his take on Batman in the future THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, which turned Miller into something of a rock star in comics circles, up through his several masterful SIN CITY miniseries, it is nice to see Frank Miller finally getting his due in mainstream culture. First with the SIN CITY film (which Miller co-directed with Robert Rodriguez) and now with 300, Miller finally is receiving the fame he richly deserves.
While I liked SIN CITY better, just because I preferred the characters and storylines, 300 is a feast for the eyes and a thrilling window into an ancient world.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
THE HOST and BLACK SNAKE MOAN
Well, I finally saw some new movies, and they were two good ones. So let's get to them, shall we?
Not sure if this is in wide-release across the country yet, but I just saw the Korean monster movie THE HOST yesterday. What a great flick! Basically, we have a dysfunctional family: the Parks. Kindly Granpa Park runs a food kiosk at the beach, serving up fried squid and beer to the beachgoers. His layabout son is supposed to be helping him out, but sleeps most of the day. Somehow the dumbass son has an intelligent schoolgirl daughter, who also helps out. Round this out with a bitter, drunken uncle who always stinks of booze and an aunt who is a champion (she got the Bronze medal) with the bow and arrow (which will come in handy later).
One day, a bunch of people are huddled around the beach, pointing to something hanging from a bridge. It turns out to be a mutant fish monster that then proceeds to drop down into the water and swim to shore, to eat up a bunch of people! This all happens so fast, it totally catches you off guard. Along the way, it grabs the little girl of the family and drags her down to its lair in the sewer system of Seoul. She's still alive and tries to reach them by cell phone. Meanwhile, the family is trying to save her, but the military keeps getting in the way, convinced that the monster was the host for a deadly virus, and that the family is infected.
They grab our main guy (the adbucted girl's layabout father) and force him to undergo a series of medical experiments, including drilling into his brain!
Of course the family reunites and hunts the monster down, intent on getting the little girl back.Leave any preconceptions at the door. Even though this is an Asian giant monster movie, there's no stomping on Tokyo (or Seoul). No guys in rubber suits. Nothing really cheesy about it at all (the monster actually looks pretty decent). Sure, it's a monster movie, but it somehow seems more – personal, for lack of a better work – than your usual creature feature fair.
Director Joon-ho Bong (who did an amazing job here) takes the basic idea of a giant monster movie and turns it on its head, turning it into the story of a family that's affected by the monster's rampage.
I really didn't care for the movie Little Miss Sunshine. But the best way to describe THE HOST (which I did like) is a Korean Little Miss Sunshine, except, instead of a beauty pageant, there's a giant mutant monster.
The monster actually looks very cool and is shown a LOT! And the family alternates between being humorous and tragic. This is the exact opposite of all those Godzilla and giant monster movies where the monster stuff is interesting but the human stories almost always suck and are boring. In THE HOST, the monster is very cool, but the emphasis is on the people, and they're actually very compelling.
Worth checking out if it comes to your town.
I also saw BLACK SNAKE MOAN this weekend. This is the already-notorious flick where Samuel L. Jackson plays an old Blues guy who chains nymphomaniac Christina Ricci to a radiator to cure her evil ways. This movie is so outrageous it seems to have already become a cult classic. And it doesn't disappoint.
I absolutely dug this movie. It had a lot of unintentional laughs in it (or maybe they were intentional). People in the audience when I attended were laughing out loud several times (me, too). But don't get the wrong impression. This isn't a movie that's "so bad it's good." It's a really good movie that is so fucking insane, that you have to laugh at some of it.
Sam Jackson has been in a lot of crap lately and it got to the point where it seemed like he'd do anything for a paycheck. But this is his best role in years. He really makes his bluesman, Lazarus, a sympathetic character. As the movie opens, his wife has just left him for his younger brother. He's furious at the turn of the events his life has taken, but feels helpless in the face of such betrayal (well, he does come at his brother with a broken beer bottle, but stops himself before it leads to murder). Christina Ricci, in an amazing performance, plays Rae, a girl who was abused throughout her childhood and who only knows how to connect with the outside world with her sexuality. She loves her boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake, who isn't great here, but he isn't awful either), and he keeps her wandering ways in check, but he also is a Marine who is about to be shipped out. Once he leaves, Rae goes on a fuck spree, and ends up being beaten by her boyfriend's best friend, who is angry at her promiscuous way and really wants her at the same time.
Lazarus finds Rae beaten and bloody on the side of the road and takes her in. While she drifts in and out of consciousness, he does some checking around to find out more about her and learns that she has a reputation as someone who will fuck anything that moves (and some things that don't). So when she recovers, she finds herself chained up, with Lazarus intent on changing her self-destructive ways.
BLACK SNAKE MOAN was directed by Craig Brewer, who previously gave us HUSTLE AND FLOW, an impressive debut with Terence Howard as a pimp who wants to become a hip hip star. Here, Brewer takes on the blues with a vengeance. His story takes place in Memphis and Jackson does a believable job as a blues singer (he even sings!). Ricci is equally impressive in her role. Even Justin Timberlake does a servicable job as an anxiety-ridden G.I. Brewer bookends the film with archival footage of Blues legend Son House talking about the origins of blues music. How it's all about love and pain.
This movie has a lot of balls, and while it does mellow a bit by the end, I found it moving and powerful, and – yeah, often very funny. It's hard to have such an audacious storyline without some laughs. But the actors, especially the two leads, give it their all. And it makes for some very entertaining moviegoing.
Definitely worth checking out.
Next Up: 300! As soon as I see this, I'll post a review.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
MASTERS OF HORROR - THE REST OF SEASON 2
Well, I mentioned awhile ago that I was going to review the rest of the episodes of SEASON 2 of MASTERS OF HORROR. I kept putting it off. I guess because I was mostly disappointed with the second season. While the first season was uneven, it did produce some excellent episodes that stood out from the pack. Season 2 ran the gamut from mediocre to awful – without even one truly terrific installment. I wanted to love some of these episodes – especially because of some of the directors and writers involved. But the highest grade any of them got was a B+.
I hope we have a better batch of stories next season. Off to the mini-reviews:
PRO-LIFE
(Directed by John Carpenter)
I guess this was a controversial one. I say that because I missed it when it originally aired and Comcast (my cable company) always puts new episodes on OnDemand so you can watch them later. So I figured, no big deal, I'll catch it later. No such luck. Not only was the episode not on OnDemand the next day – it was never put there. Which means that people who missed it were out of luck. If not for a friend of mine who'd TIVO'd it, I never would have seen it.
Now why didn't they air it on OnDemand? Well, it might be the subject matter. This one involves an abortion clinic, after all (if this isn't a case of intentional "censorship in action," it sure looks that way). A girl goes to a clinic after getting impregnated by a demon. The doctors try to help, but her "pro-life" activist Daddy shows up demanding they let his daughter out, and brings his sons and some guns to back it up. While the doctors are under siege, the girl's fetus develops at an alarming rate and she starts to give birth way earlier than she should. But demon babies have a way of not waiting for full term.
The best thing about this one is Ron Perlman as Daddy. He turns in another amazing performance. With some memorable scenes, including a particularly nasty one where Daddy does a D&C on a (male) doctor! While I didn't think this was half as good as Carpenter's installment from Season 1 ("Cigarette Burns") it was good enough to be the best episode of Season 2. I'm glad I didn't miss it. Grade: B+
VALERIE ON THE STAIRS
Directed by Mick Garris, based on a story by Clive Barker)
This one reminded me a lot of the first season's DREAMS IN THE WITCH- HOUSE, since it takes place in another boarding house full of eccentric characters. This time around, it's a house for unpublished writers – a kind of sanctuary for those trying to make a name for themslves, especially those trying to write the great American novel. Except that Rob (Tyron Leitso) starts seeing this beautiful girl on the stairs who begs him for help. She's the captive of a demonic creature (played by Tony Todd, from the Candyman movies) who also lives in the walls. In trying to free her, Rob must also solve the mystery of the house, which involves some of the other writerly tenants.
Not a perfect episode, but it had its moments, and was certainly an improvement over Garris's last script this season, for the totally awful "The V-Word" (easily the worst episode of the series so far). Garris doesn't completely acquit himself here, but at least he didn't turn in two complete stinkers for Season 2. Grade: B-
RIGHT TO DIE
(Directed by Rob Schmidt who also made the move WRONG TURN.)
An interesting, if flawed episode. Cliff Addison (the great Martin Donovan, a regular in Hal Hartley's films) and his wife Abby (Julia Anderson) are in a car accident. As a result, Abby is burned and ends up in the hospital. Before the accident, Cliff was having an affair and they were fighting (and talking about divorce) in the car before the accident occurred. While in the hospital, Abby "dies" every once in awhile for a brief time until the doctors can resuscitate her. Every time she dies, her ghost haunts Cliff and his lover. Eventually, to appease Abby's vengeful spirit, Cliff agrees to get her some "new skin." Another controversial topic, but I guess no way near as controversial as PRO-LIFE. I liked this one, but didn't love it. Some scenes worked, some didn't. And the ending made no logical sense. Grade: B-
WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
(Directed by Tom Holland, who also gave us the original Child's Play in 1988, as well as Fright Night and the Stephen King flick Thinner (all good stuff) as well as The Langoliers (a pretty bad Stephen King miniseries on ABC). Script by David J. Schow, based on a story by John Farris).
With the people involved in this one, including stars Lee Tergesen (Beecher from OZ) and William Forsythe (the amazing Sheriff Wydell from THE DEVIL'S REJECTS), I really wanted to love this one. But it's a pretty hit-or-miss affair.
A middle-aged guy named Layne (Tergesen) goes back to his hometown with his wife after being away for years. He instantly looks up the old gang he grew up with and finds out that they're dropping like flies. It has something to do with a "mentally disabled" ice cream truck guy (Forsythe) and a prank the kids played on him years before, that resulted in the man's accidental death. The ice cream man is back, and his revenge has something to do with him giving special ice creams to the kids of the now grown-up pranksters, and when the kids eat them, their daddies melt away like so much ice cream.
The plot is kind of surreal, and that aspect keeps it from being awful. But with a pedigree including Schow and Farris, I expected a lot more. Grade: C
THE BLACK CAT
(Directed by Stuart Gordon, based somewhat on the story by Edgar Allen Poe)
This was an interesting one. Poe (uncannily portrayed by the great Jeffrey Combs) is the lead character in a mix of the story and Poe's real life. With his young bride dying of consumption, Poe struggles to make money with his writing to pay for medicine. He wants to write poetry, but the editors keep demanding more of his "weird stories." Eventually, this leads to violence and murder. Or does it?
I thought Combs was terrific in this and it had some good moments, but it also kept switching back and forth between a fever dream and reality. One moment, Poe's wife is dead in her coffin. The next, she's alive again. This happens several times throughout the episode, and frankly was as annoying as hell. And the ending felt like a rip-off. I expect more from the director who gave us Re-Animator. Grade: B- (would have been lower, but Combs is terrific).
THE WASHINGTONIANS
(Directed by Peter Medak, who's done a lot of television work, and a few interesting movies like Romeo Is Bleeding and The Krays). Written by Richard Chizmar and Jonathan Schaech and based on a story by Bentley Little).
Another episode I wanted to love, but which had some flaws. A guy inherits an old house from his grandmother and finds a weird document that suggests George Washington was a cannibal! The citizens of the weird little town try to discourage him from making the letter public and when he persists, there's a society of Revolutionary War zombies who takes steps to shut him up.
I like the work of Bentley Little (and I want to read more of his stuff), and I guess I liked this installment for the most part, but there are several times during the episode where it's not really clear if the story is horrific, or one big joke. And there's a "punch line" at the end concerning George W. Bush that actually made me wince. Grade: B.
DREAM CRUISE
(Directed by Norio Tsuruta, who previously gave us Ring 0 and Premonition and based on a story by Koji Suzuki who wrote the original novels that became Ringu (the first Ring movie) and Dark Water).
I was disappointed with this one. It involves an American businessman working in Japan, who goes on a cruise with one of his best clients and his wife. However, the client knows that the American has been having an affair with his wife and plans revenge while they're out on the water. The client's first wife, who he killed and dumped in the ocean, turns up to complicate things further.
I was expecting to like this one, but it turned out to be pretty mediocre and reminded me too much of other Japanese ghost movies I've seen. Some good moments, but on the whole, kind of bland. Grade: B-.
On a the whole, a pretty lackluster bunch. Let's hope Season 3 gives us more classics like Cigarette Burns, Jenifer, and the unjustly unaired Imprint, like Season 1 did.
SAW III
I came late to the SAW III party because, frankly, I was tired of the franchise after seeing the first two films, and I didn't bother to go see it in the theater. But it was on cable this weekend and I was curious about it, so I decided to finally check it out.
While the SAW movies are fairly mainstream and don't really take things far enough for me, I also think that as far as mainstream R-rated movies go (as opposed to no-holds-barred unrated flicks), it pushes the boundaries pretty well. The SAW series gets away with a lot, and does a good job with its limitations.
I actually have to agree with some people who have said that SAW III might just be the best installment of the series so far. Unlike the first two movies, which were more set-pieces for the murders/games and just took you from beginning to end, this movie was a little more intricate, delving more into Jigsaw's motivations, and his relationship with Amanda, who had been one of his "victims" and then became his hand-chose successor.
The basic story is that old man Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dying from a brain tumor and he has his "right hand gal" Amanda kidnap Lynne, a doctor, to perform surgery on him and extend his life. While Lynne does what she can to keep Jigsaw breathing, Amanda sets a game in motion where a guy who lost his son to a drunk driver has to go through a series of "obstacles" to learn if he can forgive the people responsible - the witness who ran away, the judge who let the driver off with a short sentence, and ultimately, the man who killed his son himself.
In each test, the guy has to decide whether to let the person go, or have the vengeance he is so obsessed with.
This isn't the typical bargain-basement PG-13, brainless crap that's passing for horror these days. The relationships at the heart of the film are actually deeper than most films of this sort and while it's not a great film, I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. And it wasn't afraid to show a little gore (including an affective brain surgery sequence), which was nice.
The way Amanda became Jigsaw's protege is especially interesting. And even after she agrees to help him with his "work, " he still continues to test her as well.
And there is something interesting in the basic premise of the series, that the "villian" doesn't actually kill people outright, but puts them through "tests" to find out if they are worthy of saving themselves. This includes having to do truly horrific/painful things to survive. The idea being that, if they do make it, they will somehow be changed, and will perhaps cherish the life they've been given more. This is actually a pretty subversive train of thought for a series that seems, on the surface, to really be just about how many clever tortures the writers can come up with.
While nowhere in the league of great recent horror flicks like Rob Zombie's DEVIL'S REJECTS, I thought SAW III was, all in all, a decent film for a franchise that Hollywood's just trying to cynically cash in on every October. I don't know if a fourth one is in the works, or if it will be half as interesting as this one, but this time, third time's the charm.
WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN MCCAIN?
Okay, let's talk politics here. Something I rarely do, because I just don't think people wanna hear it. But once in awhile, you feel compelled to say something.
I don't really consider myself a Democrat or a Republican. I was raised as part of a long line of Democrats, but I have been pretty disappointed with the party ever since I could vote, and I think they need to get their fuckin act together. Too much during George W's "reign" they've been mealy-mouthed little weasles who were afraid to put up much of a fight, and for that reason I've voted for Democratic candidates, when I do, with some reluctance.
Not that the Republicans are any better. Hell, the religious right has pretty much turned the party into a bastion for intolerance and downright idiocy ("intelligent design" anyone?). If anything, the Republicans are the main reason things suck so bad right now. The Democrats just rolled over and played dead, and let it happen. Partly by not fighting against Bush's bad policies and partly by nominating weak candidates who didn't know how to rally the voters.
So now the Democrats are finally fighting back a little (sort of). Too little too late? I hope not. I guess 2008 will determine that.
So far, I'm not too happy with the names being tossed out for the next presidential campaign. While I have nothing against Hillary Clinton, I think that if she got nominated it would be pretty hard to pull off a victory - a lot of people really dislike her (to put it mildly). Barack Obama seems like a nice enough guy, but does he really have a viable track record at this point? What has the guy actually done? I don't see an impressive resume there.
The Republicans are an even more pitiful group so far. Let me tell you something - Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts for 4 years and he did nothing. As president, you'd have much of the same. He shouldn't even be in the running, but he has "classic good looks" and people think that's a reason to nominate the guy. But his track record is lame. Also - where the fuck does he live? He helped run the Olympics in Utah, then he's governor of Massachusetts. Someone told me he lives in Michigan now (I don't know if that's true). But how does someone jump around so much and yet be able to run as governor for a state he hasn't lived in before and doesn't plan to stay in after his term? I don't get it. The guy just hasn't done one thing that impresses me.
Rudy Guiliani just scares me. Sure, he kept NYC together after 9/11, because he was the mayor at the time, and he did handle that well. He was also tough on crime during his "reign" as mayor. But he seemed pretty much intolerant of just about everthing, trying to close down strip clubs (why the fuck would you do that in New York Fuckin City??), even trying to outlaw certain artwork that offended him. We want a guy like this as president? I don't. I consider myself part of the "arts" that Guiliana would no doubt want to regulate if he became president. Can you say "1984"?
Which brings us to John McCain. I used to like the guy a lot. I voted for him against Bush in the first primary that the two went head to head on. McCain seemed to have integrity, he seemed like the kind of straight shooter who spoke his mind, even when his views weren't popular. And he was the exact opposite of glad-handing, insider Bush. He was also one of Bush's most outspoken critics in the Republic party, to the chagrin of many of his fellow party members. But then something happened.
In recent times, he's done an about face. It started with him getting all buddy-buddy with people like Pat Robertson after criticizing them for so long. Then he put himself 100% behind Bush's policy in Iraq, when even other Republicans started to question the logic of it all. And now, he's given a speech as part of some "intelligent design" conference.
What the fuck is going on? What happened to the straight-talking rebel who refused to embrace the religious right and was the first to speak out when the Bush admnistration made a mistake? Everything seems to be pointing to one answer - one I never thought would change him - it's campaign time! It all looks like a guy trying to get votes by courting the religious right. Becoming more of a "team player." Becoming more of a viable Republican candidate.
But I expected more from McCain. The guy seemed to have integrity, something incredibly rare in today's politics. And now, it was all either a sham, or McCain has lost his marbles!
Like I said, I don't consider myself a Republican or a Democrat. There's too much to hate about both parties. I guess, if I had to label myself at all, I'd be closer to a Libertarian than anything else. The basic of idea that government should just stay out of our lives, unless we're dong something pretty awful. There's no room for the government in stuff like the bedroom, the arts, etc.
But the Libertarians' haven't come up with a real presidential candidate worth backing yet. And the Republicans and the Democrtats continue to jerk us arounnd. I always thought McCain was more of an independent than a Republican. I almost wish he'd kept his integrity intact and gone the independent route.
But he didn't. And frankly, I'm not too crazy about the rest of the people running so far.
It makes the thought of 2008 all the more scary.
We need a change. Eight years of King George have left us in debt, in war, and divided. We need someone to bring the country together and set things straight.
I hate to say it, but for some reason, I don't think that person is going to come forward anytime soon.
Oh well, this is the end of my political rant. Since this is the first time I've ever talked politics in the past three years, don't expect it very often.
But I thought I'd speak my peace.
BRITNEY SPEARS GOES BALD!!
Man oh man, did you see the pics online of Britney Spears with a shaved head getting tattooed? Now I can't wait until she gets her clit pierced. HAHA
But seriously folks, I gotta be Mr. Professional here, which means I should be talking about movies or something. Haven't seen anything at the theaters for awhile. It's just been too fuckin cold and nothing good enough has come out to make me come outta my grizzly bear cave. I wanna hibernate!
I was originally excited about the new GHOST RIDER movie. I was a fan of the character back in the 1970s when he first appeared in Marvel Spotlight # 5. The whole "Evel Kneival sells his soul to the devil" plot was kinda cool, and this was the time when Marvel Comics were making lots of hybrid characters that were part monster and part superhero (some other examples of this fabulous period: Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, Werewolf By Night, Tomb of Dracula, etc.). Ghost Rider looked fuckin great and Johnny Blaze was a pretty cool character.
He hasn't been handled right since. In the 90s they started a second Ghost Rider series that was fucked from the get-go (despite Mark Texeira's amazing artwork in the early issues - he's one of my faves). Suddenly Johnny Blaze wasn't Ghost Rider anymore, he was some teenager with "problems" (can you say "Peter Parker clone"?) and there were suddenly all these other variations on Ghost Rider (Zaranathos or whatever the fuck he was called, etc.). The series lost its way and lost a lot of the audience along the way. Me included.
So when the movie was announced, I thought, Maybe this could be really cool. Ghost Rider is a visually amazing character - the whole flaming skull thing just kicks ass - and I heard they were keeping him as Johnny Blaze. But then the bad news started.
First off, the movie is directed by the same guy who fucked up DAREDEVIL (that could have been such a great movie). Then we find out that the villain is Blackheart, one of the lame-ass villains from the second series in the 90s. Then that brings us to Nicolas Cage.
Nicolas Cage used to be a great actor. Or at least he fooled me for a little while. Movies like LEAVING LAS VEGAS (didn't he get nominated for the Oscar for this? I forget whether he won) and WILD AT HEART (where his weird fixation on imitating Elvis first caught my notice - but hey, it was a David Lynch movie, so it didn't seem so weird then). But then, after the Oscar nod, he went downhill and started to appear in every shit movie he could sign up for. The Elvis obsession became more and more pronounced (and became just plain weird). And the once quirky actor became an irritating ham who picked mostly awful movies to cash in on his fame.
The reviews for Ghost Rider have been dismal. Normally, that wouldn't bother me. Except that this movie has a lot going against it, starting with the director and the star. I hear not only does Cage channel his inner Elvis yet again but he also gives Johnny Blaze a fixation on Carpenters' songs and maritini glasses full of jelly beans (!!). What the fuck?
I think Kurt Russell would have made a lot better Johnny Blaze (even though he's a little old for the role), but the guy is too busy working with a director who's actually talented (Tarantino, in GRINDHOUSE).
So am I going to go see Ghost Rider? Probably not. I'll wait til it comes to cable so I can change the channel if it's too excruciating. Which it just might be. Just doesn't sound like a movie worth spending $10 for, and nobody's paying my way otherwise for this one.
If you go see it, good luck. But I'm gonna stay in my cave. Winter's not over yet.
Infernally Yours,
LLS
(Note: right after this was originally posted on 2/17/07, Ghost Rider went on to become the number one movie of the weekend, earning about $44 million. Some movies are just critic-proof.)
CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT - THE COMPLETE ARCHIVES
I wrote a movie review column with Michael Arruda called CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT, or CKF as we like to call it, from 2004 to 2006. You can find all the columns now at my website: www.llsoares.com
The final three columns from 2006 have been posted and are available now. These include reviews of the movies: HOSTEL, FINAL DESTINATION 3 and the 2006 remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES. These columns were originally published in the horror industry newsletter HELLNOTES.
CKF hasn't found a new home yet, but in the meantime, all twenty-one installments of the original movie review column are now available on this site. Check them out if you're into honest horror movie reviews with a sense of humor. I have even added a new coda after the final column.
