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tsmt01
Reviews
RV (2006)
Cheesy Family Fun
I watched "RV" while our band was actually tooling down the road in an RV as we were returning from a gig (part of which was rained out, ironically). Interesting way to watch this one. I thought Robin Williams did a great job given the confines of a somewhat cheesy comedy flick. I've seen where Mr. Williams likes to be a one-man show so I commend him for giving room to the other characters. This was good-hearted family fun here. There's bunch of laughs, some gags (to include a gagging on food) and a final message about love and honesty. The anti-corporate conclusion doesn't hurt my feelings either. I don't care if some of it has been done before. If you are not expecting anything very sophisticated, this one will do quite well.
Hoboken Hollow (2006)
Horrible, But Not Bad
Since I had a unique perspective behind the scenes, to include providing the use of my large fixer-upper house, I'll leave it up to IMDb to decide if this should be a review or if I should post it in one of the discussion forums. Anyway here goes.
Two years from the time my old house was besieged by film crew and actors, I found the one rental DVD copy that our San Angelo TX Hastings store had. I popped it into my DVD player, cranked up the old television and settled down with beer and popcorn in one of the very rooms upstairs where a scene had been shot. After some hype, anticipation, and production company aftermath, I could finally see Hoboken Hollow for myself.
I'd already read a number of reviews, had seen trailers along with the first few minutes thanks to the internet, and had my trusty copy of the script. So I knew I was a little 'front loaded' for the experience.
As advertised, the beginning was somewhat hodgepodge. A lot of characters and things were introduced all at once. This made me want to look for the guy who runs around selling programs, saying you can't tell the players without a program. Things then settled down to an easy, nearly leisurely pace. If there were one major criticism on my part, the pace would be it. I think an easygoing pace was intended to contrast with the shock and intensity of the torture scenes, but if that was the idea, it needs some work. I will qualify this criticism in that it may be my own theatrical background speaking there.
This movie tells a story beyond the scope of a horror flick. It requires some attention, (or in my case my aforementioned trusty script). I'm not a connoisseur of horror films and I think it would be a disservice to rate this film solely on that basis.
As for a few plot elements, I do note the similarity between the words Hoboken and Hokey. I would expect a chainsaw to trump a cattle prod and the lone shotgun to be commandeered by the majority slave population, given the opportunity. I don't know what the actual Ellebracht family did to keep all these folks in line, but it had to have been better than this, which was nearly laughable in places.
But I can't dismiss it; this could be a sad commentary on the people down on their luck that blundered into such a place. Why would they choose to remain suppressed as slaves, even to the point of death? A previous review makes the comparison with mid-level employees trapped in the shenanigans of a cooperation. They are used to this and even want a piece of the action for themselves. I find that as frightening as any of the torture and abuse.
The rape scene was straight from a nightmare, never mind the given repulsiveness of such an act. This was like watching a train wreck and not being able to do anything about it, and trust me, I would have decommissioned the perpetrator(s). Even though I knew about the scene from my script, I was left physically ill after watching it.
That scene, harsh as it was, probably epitomized much of what must have happened during the time the actual ranch was in business. And Teri, like the rest of the 'employees' there, seems to go on, resigned to more of the same, no longer able to muster the effort to get out. She holds one last hope for Trevor to come back and rescue her.
The script has Trevor narrating the movie in voice over, and based on reviews I've read, this was probably the version released "across the pond". Unfortunately the reviews of the narration were less than stellar. So it appears a decision was made to make an edit of the DVD for release here in the states with somebody else narrating. The person with the honors this time is Weldon (in his non-stupid character). Weldon's narration is well done, short and to the point. I hear what I think is Glen Stephens adding a few remarks. Weldon's identity as narrator is not revealed until the end.
The photography has been mentioned in previous reviews. I was quite impressed with the way shots were set up during what I saw of the filming and I see where that paid off in the final product. Definitely good work there.
The music was very good, with one possible exception of becoming a little repetitive at one point about two-thirds through the movie. The music complimented the action well.
And so, I give my rating of 6 stars out of 10. It sure as hell leaves you thinking. As a fellow Menardian, I wish Glen Stephens the best in his future works. Based on the little that I know about horror films, I think Hoboken Hollow is not bad for a first endeavor into this realm.