Reviews

This movie's origins are a mystery to me, as I only know as much as IMDB did before I rented it. I assume that before "Starship Troopers", "Killshot" was one of the countless unaired pilots that never made it to network, cable, or otherwise. The new title of "Kill Shot" is comically thrown into the opening sequence, the first of many quick clues that this was not ever intended for the cinema. The quick cuts, cheesy "Melrose Place" music, and short 2-second close-up candid shots of the main actors let you know what you're in for.

And I don't mind at all. I rented this movie seeing the repackaging that puts Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards on the cover in front of a volleyball net thinking it would be funny to see them in a movie besides the SciFi travesty of Starship Troopers (an excellent book, in my opinion, not so hot a movie - but that's another review). After looking it up on IMDB, my roommate and I surmised that the pilot was dragged up after the apparent success of Troopers and Richards own career (see Bond-Girl and Wild Things references here). They threw in a sex scene involving a minor character to reach the coveted R-rated status - coveted in suspense Video Rental sections, that is. In any event, they should have left it unrated if you're trying to sell it in the suspense/softcore porn section.

All in all, it's entertaining. I hate to spoil the fun of telling you it's a TV pilot, though. That was the biggest pull while watching it - when you expect a cinematic movie and get a TV show, the differences between them make themselves more clear than usual.

Would I rent it again? No. Would I watch this TV show? Well, why not - it's better than Baywatch. And their meager attempts at hitting all demographics would have done well back in the mid 90s. Token black guy (who's gay to avoid the TV taboo of inter-racial dating), token Asian (Japanese, I assume from the name Koji) more adept at science and computers than talking to women, beautiful, intelligent Latina pre-med student who has everything going for her except her family's bank account - this show probably would have done ok.

But as a movie it just cracks me.

I gave it a 7 out of 10, considering what it was and what it was forced to become. It made for a very enjoyable evening, and that's all I ask of rentals.

"Kidz Rule," or "Seamless" as it was packaged at Video Hits Plus in Kalamazoo, is a horrible movie. The tragedy is that Shannon Elizabeth (of American Pie infamy) is the best actor in the cast. The protagonist, J.B. (Kentaro Seagal) reads lines like that kid behind you in High School who clearly hadn't made it past the 3rd grade reading level before Junior High. Not that he doesn't get everything one of those guys would have wanted in a throw-away love scene with Miss Elizabeth.

However, there is no nudity in this movie, and that really doesn't help the situation. With a movie like this, I'm surprised the director didn't ask for more skin when he realized what he was working with. There's plenty of sexuality without nudity, though - including one anxiety-ridden, stressed-out teenager who ends up trading sex for money.

One more thing I should mention is the character of Elmo, played by Broc Benedict. Truly heartbreaking in his over-acting, Broc is probably the most proficient actor after Shannon Elizabeth. If you think you've seen him before, you may have - he played the younger version of Eric Foreman in flashbacks on "That 70s Show."

I gave this a 2 out of 10. If you and your friends go to the video store and you see this on the shelf, you see Shannon Elizabeth staring at you with those "undress me" eyes, remember this review and put the movie back down. If you're that desperate for her, go watch American Pie again.

When I joined the IMDB community, I was asked about my favorite movie. I was at a loss for about five minutes, trying to think of movies that I could truly consider my favorite. This movie finally won over the others I considered when I realized that a favorite is something personal and beyond reproach - you may hate this movie, but I saw at the perfect time of my life and now it means much more to me than it probably could otherwise.

Henry Fonda turns in an excellent performance, which is testimony to his work ethic - he vocally denounced the script as "corny" enough to throw back Hollywood film-making 20 years. The children are troopers of the same era as other classic family movies, ala Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson." I imagine the casting companies used were the same.

This movie accomplishes what it sets out to do - make you care about the Spencer family, their desire for respect and honor, and the sacrifices they make to do what they think is right. There are many moments in this movie where you could be moved to tears.

An emotional movie with, dare I say it, a lot of heart. It is my favorite movie.