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Lamerzi
Reviews
Kiss of Death (1997)
The textbook definition of "straight to video"
ONE POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILER
So somebody finally bothered to add this film to the IMDb. That's good cause maybe I can find somebody else to discuss this with.
Bizarrely this movie only seems to be available in Germany. So I got the (cheap) DVD and watched. Hmm, a cheap movie. Now maybe somebody can help explain what exactly is going on.
The set up was crazy. The Al Capone foundation? I think we could have had a little elaboration with that one...it could have been an intriguing development of the plot (like Peggy and Aldo slowly discover there's some devilish price to pay for their house). But no...
I understand the main story. But what I suppose were meant to be subplots were a complete mystery to me. And the ending? Well, rarely has any movie had such a depressing, empty finish.
But the strangest part was (and if you've seen it I'm guessing you know what I'm about to say) is the moment when Peggy starts to undo her top in that guy's office...AND THE FLIPPING MOVIE PAUSES! YES PAUSES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHOT! Then it cuts back to the guy. What the hell was the idea of that? There's plenty of T&A elsewhere in the film so why clumsily edit what would have otherwise been a decent scene?
And the photo shown on the DVD case doesn't appear in the movie.
The only way I can explain all this is maybe the filmmakers couldn't have actually finished shooting the movie.
Having said all that, this film is a brilliant purchase if you like Christi Harris.
Anybody want to comment? Then get onto the message board and let's thrash this one out.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
It couldn't possibly live up to T1 & T2
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
After the now classic first two films, we have this largely pointless sequel. I fear it was made only for financial reasons and the absence of James Cameroon shows this. After a twelve year wait, I think the makers could have done better than this.
My main concern was the lack of explanation as to how Skynet was developed. After Dyson was killed in T2 and his work destroyed, I think we deserved to have a more thought-out development of this "re-birth" of the Skynet AI. The development of Skynet in T3 was rushed and contradicts the time-line we learned in the first films.
The overall ethos I so admired in T2 is lacking here. More than anything, T2 gave us hope for the future: that it is NOT in our nature to kill ourselves. Now here in T3 we learn Judgment Day "is inevitable".
The absence of Linda Hamilton also made this film suffer. When we learn of Sarah's death it is empty and unsatisfying.
While it was a enjoyable "action" film with some good characters and set-pieces, I feel overall the tone and story are inferior to the well loved T1 & T2. The ending was an anti-climax and seems only fit for setting up the possibilities of more and more sequels (probably of diminishing quality).
I will finish by saying that in the official Making of Terminator 2 documentary I watched yesterday, T2 was described as "The Conclusion". I rest my case.
Night of the Demons 2 (1994)
Well made film with good pacing and cast
This film reminded me of Fright Night (1985), or maybe Idle Hands (1999) in the way it was a horror with a fair of amount of humour too.
Don't take it too seriously, and I think you'll enjoy seeing the good special effects and some remarkably atmospheric scenes. True, there's not much of a story but the characters are realistically played and with some great interplay between the cast. Especially good are Zoe Trilling as Shirley, Bobby Jacoby as Perry, and Christi Harris as Bibi.
And for gore fans, there are some particularly gruesome deaths towards the end. Funniest parts were the use of supersoakers by the ninja-like Sister Gloria and the gang, and Kurt having his crotch felt by (he thought) Terri.
If you're a fan of the genre, enjoy!