Change Your Image
bigchin_00
Reviews
Weregrrl (2002)
Put down the camera and pick up your crayons
What in the world was anybody thinking when they put a camera into the hands of these vidiots? How can you take a great premise like a curse that doesn't turn each subsequent victim into a werewolf but into a lesbian and make a rotten home video? Michael Watt (aka Francis Veltri) gives a bad name to amateur acting with his smirky and childish jokes and less than cartoonish pratfalls. Just because you can aim a camera doesn't make you a director either. The story by Watt and the direction of Best are totally not compelling. I like seeing Debbie Rochon but methinks this was a "paycheck" performance by the scream queen and not something she did for her Art! This could even be the nadir of Lilith Stabs career, if that is at all possible. There is not one thing even remotely likable about this home video. They are all clapping themselves on their backs for not exploiting women in this thing. There's no nudity and nothing gratuitous. That may be commendable but there's nothing interesting or entertaining going on either. I bought this at a convention and I should have bought it on Saturday instead of Sunday because I couldn't go back the next day to return it. Please, PLEASE: To all the non-talented people with video cameras and no talent - please stop trying to pretend that you are filmmakers. And please, PLEASE, dear Lord, stop me from wasting a fiver on these things every time I go to a convention. I keep hoping something good will come out of one of these direct to video things and nothing, NOTHING, ever does.
The Rockville Slayer (2004)
Not very enjoyable but shows some promise
Most elements of a good story all appear to be here. There's a crime (really a series of crimes), some suspicious characters, and the potential for the murderer to strike again. But as I watched the story develop and progress there is one thing missing, the story lacks a hero or a heroine. It almost has the feel of a documentary as things happen (murders, suspects arise and fall) and you don't have a sense of heightening suspense. I don't agree with some of the comments here that put down a lot of the actors. I especially liked Joe Estevez as the town sheriff and Linnea Quigley as the old lady who may or may not be the murderer who turns up with hulking horror icon Bob Z'dar, they do a decent job even though burdened with some lifeless and artificial lines to say. The real actors are very good esp. compared to the rest of the cast, who I never heard of. My biggest problem is like someone else said, the ending is disconnected to the rest of the movie. It's almost impossible to judge the DVD version put out for Rockville Slayer because the image and audio quality have a lot of problems and some parts are mangled up pretty bad. Maybe it was better in the movie houses. When push comes to shove here you have some fairly good actors and actresses working against a story that is intricate but at the same time doesn't make complete sense if thats possible.
The Lost Empire (2001)
A sacrilege. Wasting a great novel
Now I doubt many westerners are familiar with the Chinese novel Journey to the West or with the legendary Chinese character of the Monkey King. So for the uninitiated this might be an interesting story with interesting characters. But despite the fact that they used some Chinese actors and actresses there is a hallow ring to this TV movie. It all seems staged to appeal to Americans and doesn't honestly follow the legends of the original Chinese texts. The casting could have been better. It would have been nice if they picked an actor with more depth than Thomas Gibson for the Nicolas Orton role. The probably chose Gibson for his popularity on network television at the time (in Dharma and Greg) instead of auditioning someone else for the role. Bai Ling is a spectacular woman to look at and a very good actress. She tries her best but she would have been better served if they wrote a better script and gave more emphasis to Chinese authenticity.
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
How depressing
My gosh! What a depressing movie! As much as I would admire the real life person on whom this story was based, I walk away from this film with such a sickening feeling in my belly. Like a cement gut punch! Do people really treat other people in the awful manner that is depicted towards Brandon Teena in this film? Hilary Swank truly gives an Oscar worthy performance and you can only imagine the anguish she must have endured in assuming this role of a girl posing as a boy and being found out by the meanest, ugliest group of white trash any screenwriter could dream up. It was nice to see Lecy Goranson on the screen again, a far cry from her days on Roseanne. This is not a feel good movie by any means. Don't watch this on a date, that's for sure. Well shot, well acted, good solid story. Just so darned depressing!
El sonido de la muerte (1966)
They got to be kidding us
Picked this up as a discount purchase & I'm not sure if I want my $3.99 back. This is a story about an invisible dinosaur who starts chewing up a bunch of archaeologists. Does that sound crazy? It is even crazier than that premise sounds. Did they choose an invisible dinosaur because it was cheaper to make the film that way? Did they choose a weak scriptwriter because it was cheaper to make the film that way? Methinks "yes" on both accounts. In one scene the invisible dinosaurs kills somebody inside a house. It's supposed to be an invisible T-Rex so can they explain to me how a T-Rex gets into somebody's kitchen? The plusses: two early performances by two genre movie queens, Soledad Miranda and Ingrid Pitt. I don't think either one of them would rank The Sound Of Horror high on her resume. If you watch it with the mindset that this is a mid-1960s cheapie you could get a few chuckles out of it. It's not dreadful but it is pretty awful. Just for having Soledad and Ingrid I've decided to let them keep my $3.99 and maybe I'll watch this again in another 10 years.
Praey (2005)
Surprisingly entertaining
Caught a screener of Praey but wasn't expecting much. To my surprise I was thoroughly entertained for an hour & 1/2. The plusses: good story, compelling lead actress, enough plot twists & turns to keep me interested, a strong ending, a middle eastern guy who reminded me of great bit players from the 1940s and an overall professional look about it. The negs: dragged a teeny little bit, somewhat weak villain, a very slow couple of opening scenes that could lose you if you don't hang in long enough. I don't understand the title and maybe that could be changed. Some scenes play like thrillers and some play like horror. The director managed to bring it all together and make it very easy to follow and the plot was engrossing once things got started. Should this director make another film I will certainly look for it and watch it.