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mikeychalupa
Reviews
The Fog (2005)
A worthy update of the classic
I'm a big fan of John Carpenter's films, The Fog being one of my favorites. So after the Assault on Precinct 13 debacle, I was a bit leery of this remake. But after seeing Debra Hill and Carpenter's names on this film, I went in with an open mind.
I was pleased with what I saw. The soundtrack is updated, the cast is much easier on the eyes, but the story (with a few minor details changed) is remarkably the same. And once the film gets going, Carpenter's creepy and suspenseful piano music ties you to the original while the updated fog effects modernize the film. And yet the style of suspense and scares are the same brand, without resorting to buckets of gore.
There are always going to be those who will automatically bash a remake without seeing it and occasionally I'm one of them. And to be certain, many of them are pretty crappy. The Fog (2005) isn't one of them.
-Mikey
Sacrifice (2000)
Silly. Very silly.
Laughable dialogue, terrible camerawork, and a ludicrous script make this an all-around BAD movie. And yet, like so many other bad movies, you just can't seem to change the channel. Maybe it's to see if Jamie Luner will get naked again, maybe it's to see if Bokeem Woodbine, who gets second billing, will get another 5 minutes of screen time this hour, maybe it's to see exactly how Mr. Blon... I mean, Michael Madsen's character will manage to get away from the cops, maybe it's because ALL the movie channels are playing similar stupid direct-to-video movies at this hour of the morning.
From the serial killer with the box of boobs, to the gratuitous dream sequence with Madsen's dead daughter in the restaurant, this is one completely silly movie. Watch it anyway, what else are you going to do at 3:30 AM?
-Mikey
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
Made for a VERY specific target audience...
Unless you are in one of two groups (people who were high-school aged at the time of the John Hughes movies of the 80's, or high-school aged today) chances are this movie isn't for you. Myself, I'm 27, somewhere between these two generations and can appreciate the references to both types of films being spoofed heavily in this movie.
Some great aspects of this movie: The soundtrack, which features modern updates of a seemingly endless supply of 80's standards; the cast, who all look like today's teen movie stars (Mia Kirschner, although playing a character based on Sarah Michelle Gellar's Cruel Intentions character, is a dead ringer for Eliza Dushku, Sam Huntington not only looks like Chris Klein in American Pie, but sounds like him too, while Cody McMains, patterned after Seth Green in Can't Hardly Wait, slips into a dead-on Judd Nelson during the Breakfast Club scene); and the myriad of sight gags (Weird Science section in the library, Anthony Michael Dining Hall) that require repeated viewings to catch all of them. Cameos by 80's teen movie stars abound. The DVD release contains numerous deleted scenes that MUST be viewed.
Some not so great: well, the toilet overflow in the classroom. The set-up was great. An English teacher is ranting about how modern-day humor is so lowbrow in comparison to, say, Shakespearean humor or Oscar Wilde, interspersed with a girl having flatulence problems in a bathroom stall. It goes south though, when the kids in the vent abover her fall out and the whole mess is sent crashing into the classroom below, sending a shower of sewage onto the teacher and the students. And Areola, while very easy on the eyes, does get stale after a while.
It's my guess that the producers of this film didn't really care what critics thought about this film. They know that high school kids everywere are now quoting lines from this film in the halls between classes, and that's what they were aiming for.
The Last Detail (1973)
Should be required viewing for all Navy enlisteds.
Though it is visually dated, this is one of the very few movies that accurately portrays the type of everyday sailor in the Navy at the time and today. Buddusky and Mulhall are lifer First Class Petty Officers in the transient personnel unit at Norfolk Naval Station. They are in limbo between duty stations, assigned to escort a young seaman to the brig to serve an unusually harsh prison sentence for a relatively minor offense. Their hearts aren't in it from the start and when they learn the nature of the offense they decide to show the poor guy a good time en route to his sentence.
Along the way, they get their young charge drunk for the first time, take him to a prostitute, get in a fight with some Marines, and reluctantly deliver him to his destination.
The film slows down in parts and the ending might be dissatisfying for some, but those who have served as enlisteds will immediately recognize the characters. The young scared seaman, the gruff, "who gives a sh*t" PO1, the snot-nosed Marine O-2 who folds when threatened by an E-6, and so on.
These sailors use every bit the profanity currently in use by their real-life counterparts, so be forewarned, though it only serves to add realism to Nicholson's outstanding portrayal of SM1 Buddusky.