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Post by lazario on Feb 22, 2009 6:40:44 GMT -5
Okay, I won't call it a disappointment. Exactly. Because the last 30 minutes are actually the best part of the movie and when it was over, I was smiling. And along the way, toward the second half, it does get pretty funny occasionally. Especially Billy Bob's lines. The director graciously gives him the funniest stuff in the movie, which is kind of surprising since he also dies very early on after he shows up. But the first 55 minutes are way too back-and-forth between smart writing and inadequate budgetary elements. It's basically killed by not having the money for better makeup and props. The special effects are absolutely some of the worst I've ever seen. A lot of editing in action scenes are repeat shots of something you've already seen. The music is also a seriously weak category, though that improves toward the last 30 minutes as well- shockingly enough. I was honestly expecting more punk or 80's hard-rock. What's there instead? Country-western, rockabilly, blues-inspired honky-tonk type stuff. And these are not only very tacky musical genres in their own right, but very easy to do poorly. As this movie's choice of music clearly demonstrates. Oh and I have to know... what the hell is up with the painfully bad kazoo-whatever slapstick novelty music number? If they were trying for Dawn of the Dead's mall music... they failed miserably! And they killed Martha Quinn, even though she was tougher than all the guys in the movie. And delivered a very funny performance. Most of the time, the movie was just too much comedy and not enough horror. But, the writing is still smart. And the acting is mostly good. The results are just not satisfying enough to warrant this movie its' reputation as one of Troma's best. It's clearly not.
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Post by Evil Dave on Feb 22, 2009 8:33:16 GMT -5
i never liked any of the pumpkinhead movies Oh God, me neither. I remember wanting to see it for such a long time because the demon looked so damn cool, but when I watched it, it was a total disappointment. Okay, I won't call it a disappointment. Exactly. Because the last 30 minutes are actually the best part of the movie and when it was over, I was smiling. And along the way, toward the second half, it does get pretty funny occasionally. Especially Billy Bob's lines. The director graciously gives him the funniest stuff in the movie, which is kind of surprising since he also dies very early on after he shows up. But the first 55 minutes are way too back-and-forth between smart writing and inadequate budgetary elements. It's basically killed by not having the money for better makeup and props. The special effects are absolutely some of the worst I've ever seen. A lot of editing in action scenes are repeat shots of something you've already seen. The music is also a seriously weak category, though that improves toward the last 30 minutes as well- shockingly enough. I was honestly expecting more punk or 80's hard-rock. What's there instead? Country-western, rockabilly, blues-inspired honky-tonk type stuff. And these are not only very tacky musical genres in their own right, but very easy to do poorly. As this movie's choice of music clearly demonstrates. Oh and I have to know... what the hell is up with the painfully bad kazoo-whatever slapstick novelty music number? If they were trying for Dawn of the Dead's mall music... they failed miserably! And they killed Martha Quinn, even though she was tougher than all the guys in the movie. And delivered a very funny performance. Most of the time, the movie was just too much comedy and not enough horror. But, the writing is still smart. And the acting is mostly good. The results are just not satisfying enough to warrant this movie its' reputation as one of Troma's best. It's clearly not. I agree with your assessment. The last half hour is what really saves this one from being otherwise mostly forgettable. I also think that it doesn't necessarily deserve the badge most people give it as being one of Troma's top pieces of work. I mean it's not bad, but it's not that good either. My opinion has always been that it gets overrated by most people just because of the novelty of Billy Bob being in it. But I don't want to sound too harsh here as I do remember being glad I gave it a watch, although that was quite a while back so I'd like to give it a re-watch beings that I'm a few years older now to see if the humor side of the movie still has the same impact on me now as it did the first time I saw it.
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Post by lazario on Feb 22, 2009 13:25:31 GMT -5
Most of the women playing the "Chopper chicks" were great. The movie just needed to up the horror, tone down the comedy. It really wanted to be Return of the Living Dead meets Near Dark.
I personally still think Dead Dudes in the House is their full-fledged, very much unsung masterpiece.
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Post by Evil Dave on Feb 23, 2009 8:38:35 GMT -5
Bought and just finished watching 'Religulous.'
I won't go off on a rant as to my personal feelings on organized religion as to avoid starting a firestorm here, but I LOVE this movie!
How it didn't at least get nominated for the best documentary Oscar this year is completely beyond me. And apparently the film's producer/interviewer/star Bill Maher feels the same way. The Academy chose him as the presenter for this category last night and he was not shy at all during his presentation of the nominees that he thought it was complete b.s. that his film had been snubbed from consideration.
A side note about this film that might surprise some people-------The Director/Producer of 'Religulous' is Larry Charles. You may know him from directing/producing such comedic works as the movie 'Borat' and the tv sitcoms 'Seinfeld' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' Kinda interesting.
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Post by Necroscope on Feb 24, 2009 4:35:56 GMT -5
Good choice Dave. I really liked that film too. It pretty much sums up my opinion on religion.
I just finished watching the new "Friday the 13th". Oh man. Where to start? I know it will come as no surprise to anyone, when I say it's bad, but it is so bad that I legitimately wanted to hurt myself for watching it. As punishment. Honest to good, people, I'm frightened for my own safety here...
The script was terrible, the acting bad, the plot was fairly nonsensical. Unfortunately, I can't get much more specific without spoilers. Now, I understand that the originals were not high art in themselves, but at least they had a sense of fun to them. That was not the case here. No fun to be had. Only misery.
All of that being said, I do encourage you all to see it eventually. Whatever you do, don't pay for it. Download it or borrow it off of a friend that stupidly (perhaps with your encouragement) pays full price for the DVD. It is vitally important to see the worst this genre has to offer, otherwise we won't recognize the truly brilliant when it deigns to show itself. Plus, if I've learned anything while being on this board, it's that we all love to have something to bitch about...
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Post by Evil Dave on Feb 25, 2009 9:25:31 GMT -5
Hey glad to here ya liked 'Religulous' Necro! ;D I'm still pissed that the Academy didn't have enough balls to nominate it though..........Fu*kin' P.C. bastards........... And yeah I plan on seeing the new F13th eventually........Like I've said before, if for no other reason than just to see our ol' masked buddy up on the big screen at least once in my lifetime Ive heard from some people (and it seems to be supported by your post) that the movie is totally void of the classic campy feel we've come to love from the series. Most people I've talked to that have seen it said that they tried way to hard to stylize it in the dark/gritty "Rob Zombie/Saw" style that's being used to death by horror directors nowadays, and that it fails miserably trying to do so. Any truth to that?
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Post by Necroscope on Feb 25, 2009 16:47:50 GMT -5
Actually, Dave, I don't believe there's ant truth to that. I had the exact opposite problem. It was too slick. Nothing "gritty" about it. A very typical Platinum Dunes look. Just like their TCM remake. It was kinda dark, but not real gritty. But, it was the lack of fun factor that really bothered me. All in all, I was really disappointed but not surprised...
Oh! I watched "Hey, Stop Stabbing Me!" last night. It's a no budget film that I think was filmed in a weekend. And its fucking hilarious! It's set in the horror world, but its not a horror movie. It's a comedy, and hot damn is it funny. I would highly recommend it for low budget movie fans. (I'm talking to you, T)
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Post by nickconrad on Feb 26, 2009 5:31:27 GMT -5
So I just saw The Machinist for the first time. Yeah. Sure did.
What did you all think of it? I really thoroughly enjoyed it, myself. The only thing that really got in my head early that turned out to be true was the whole story behind Ivan, but the rest managed (I thought) to wind past me and still connect to a decent story. Plus, whatever filter they used on the camera for those noir-esque stormy outdoor scenes was so good.
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Post by tsmooth31 on Feb 28, 2009 4:16:21 GMT -5
Oh! I watched "Hey, Stop Stabbing Me!" last night. It's a no budget film that I think was filmed in a weekend. And its fucking hilarious! It's set in the horror world, but its not a horror movie. It's a comedy, and hot damn is it funny. I would highly recommend it for low budget movie fans. (I'm talking to you, T
where did you see it? i just looked it up and saw a good amount of other people say it was very funny, but it is unavailable everywhere, did you buy or dl it?
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Post by Necroscope on Feb 28, 2009 17:45:25 GMT -5
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Post by tsmooth31 on Feb 28, 2009 20:26:08 GMT -5
ok thanks, ill prob try that, just afraid of getting that draded blue screen again
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Post by Evil Dave on Mar 1, 2009 7:43:15 GMT -5
I watched 'Critters' at like 2 in the morning on the Sci-Fi channel. It was one of my childhood favorites so I always enjoy watcing it for nostalgic reasons.
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Post by lazario on Mar 1, 2009 8:54:38 GMT -5
Critters can not stand up to the likes of Bad Taste, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Q the Winged Serpent, Brain Damage, and other far-superior Sci-Fi Horror films. That movie was really poorly timed for a release. To really take the culture by storm and be able to claim any originality- it would have had to come out before the much smarter Monster in the Closet was made, 1983.
Critters, Strange Invaders, Night of the Creeps, and The Blob Remake all come out losers in the wake of the long wave of 80's Sci-Fi/Horror.
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Post by Evil Dave on Mar 1, 2009 9:18:27 GMT -5
I always thought Critters was more aimed at cashing in on the success of Gremlins. You know - how they talk, attempt to be humorous, multiply/grow, large quantities, etc. Although I cant remember the exact release dates of either film so maybe its just coincidence.
Oh, and you didnt like the remake of The Blob? Why not? Man, I thought it was great!
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Post by lazario on Mar 1, 2009 9:27:26 GMT -5
I always thought Critters was more aimed at cashing in on the success of Gremlins. You know - how they talk, attempt to be humorous, multiply/grow, large quantities, etc. Although I cant remember the exact release dates of either film so maybe its just coincidence. They were funny. But only because they ripped E.T.'s head off and Spielberg's stuff is always considered Sacred-Cow. Don't touch it. And okay, they did something that was taboo even when Gremlins 2 did it- 4 years earlier. But unfortunately, they couldn't justify setting an entire film around a few cute gags. The characters were weak. Only a few amusing lines of dialogue worked. And, point being- other movies of the sci-fi/horror persuasion to be released in the 80's were much scarier or much smarter. Even C.H.U.D. was better than Critters, I think at the end of the day, anyone would agree. Just not more fun. Oh, and you didnt like the remake of The Blob? Why not? Man, I thought it was great! I tore that movie apart in my review here. Basically, it's a huge rip-off of Piranha, C.H.U.D., and other films. Every idea it had for the big reveal toward the end had already been done before and better.
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Post by tsmooth31 on Mar 1, 2009 15:32:49 GMT -5
Oh, and you didnt like the remake of The Blob? Why not? Man, I thought it was great!
he didnt like it because we did, we said how great it was so obviously he had to hate it, just like squirm we hated it so he had to love it, you know by now he just needs to argue,
I tore that movie apart in my review here. Basically, it's a huge rip-off of Piranha, C.H.U.D., and other films. Every idea it had for the big reveal toward the end had already been done before and better.
blob was nothing like pirhana or C.H.U.D
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Post by lazario on Mar 1, 2009 16:58:00 GMT -5
Oh, and you didnt like the remake of The Blob? Why not? Man, I thought it was great!he didnt like it because we did I didn't like it because it sucked. It was boring, it had no style, the writing was cliched and underwhelming, the music score was unimpressive, it ripped off better movies, the special effects were okay but not outstanding, the characters weren't likable enough. It was fodder. Nothing more. we said how great it was so obviously he had to hate it I don't hate it. And you wouldn't know whether it was good or bad because you're stupid. just like squirm we hated it so he had to love it Squirm was actually good. Again, you wouldn't know this because you're stupid. you know by now he just needs to argue I think he's smarter than you are. He didn't ask you anything either. He asked me. blob was nothing like pirhana or C.H.U.D Way to pay attention, stupid. I told you in my post on the movie in the Last Movie Watched how the movie ripped those off. You don't remember because you're so stupid.
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Post by tsmooth31 on Mar 1, 2009 19:57:05 GMT -5
no you are stooooopid and im better then you, blah blah
thats what every single one of your posts consists of, you are the biggest baby in the world, must have something to do with being an insecure gay
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Post by lazario on Mar 2, 2009 1:23:46 GMT -5
no you are stooooopid and im better then you, blah blah thats what every single one of your posts consists of You wish, then you would be right for once in your life. Get over it, T, you're always wrong. Except when you're agreeing with Me. ;D you are the biggest baby in the world Says the poster who threw a hissyfit because I called The Blob Remake for what it really was. Check my post about it from months ago, T - I said some good stuff about it. Some... must have something to do with being an insecure gay Everyone is a little insecure. Look at you- you hate being wrong so much that you start telling people they live in Alaska.
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Post by tsmooth31 on Mar 2, 2009 4:08:57 GMT -5
there you go, talking in the third person again, you seem to do that alot
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