Change Your Image
shpoodog
Reviews
Land of the Dead (2005)
Different than the others. I enjoyed it.
Okay, I'll start by saying that I can see why some people didn't like Big Daddy, but he didn't bother me. For the kind of movie it was, there were some good performances and scene stealers all around. Special props go to Pillsbury. I'd have that guy on me team because he knows how to handle himself, doesn't shoot his mouth off when he should be looking out, and seems like a cool guy. Another scene stealer was zombie Savini. What a badass! Hopper played a great jerk and the butler's exit was funny.
Some people have said that the zombies aren't scary, but I don't know if that's the point. To me the Romero zombies in the holy trilogy haven't been scary since Peter and Roger first ran down stairs in the mall. Since then they've been pathetic creatures to be pitied, because we came to understand them through viewing them both in action and when nobody is around. The fear lies in that thy used to be people like us and we'll become them eventually. I liked how they took the treatment of the undead a step further from where we've seen it in the Night of the Living Dead remake and Dawn of the Dead to show a real lack of respect for people who used to be their friends an loved ones and by extension shows a lack of respect and loyalty towards each other, while showing a twisted way of dealing with something they fear and don't understand.
On the down side, I get what someone said about a main character's reaction after shooting someone and things playing out a certain way. There's also a scene which made me think of 9/11 which George Romero could have taken a bit further. I think that was really the one crowd of extras I actually felt for. I never felt the social commentary drug the flick down as much as it felt like some of the characters fit into action movie clichés. I don't mind that though because there's not enough human vs. human conflict in zombie cinema. I'd have liked to see an actual Road Warrior style shootout, but maybe next time.
There was a lot taken from the original script of Day of the Dead, so if you enjoyed reading that you'll probably like this one.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Not bad
I went into this not knowing if I was going to like it. If you can get past the idea of Undead Olympic Sprinting Super Humans instead of our shambling old friends in the original, it's actually pretty enjoyable. I liked how the film worked dialogue and images from the original into the remake and even into some of the key scenes. The Tom Savini scene was also golden.
On the down side, I didn't buy some of the character actions here and there and the dog plan was down right stupid. The rule that made it work wasn't established until a character said so. It reeked of a convenient plot device. I also liked the ending before the credits rolled and would have preferred that instead of the bit during the credits, just because they would have captured the same feel of the original's ending. It also seems that the zombies would have smashed the glass front of the mall in order to get in faster than it could be boarded up. The remake was also missing a pie fight. >:( Over all, this was an enjoyable horror/action flick.
The 'Burbs (1989)
I wish I had neighbors like that!
This was one of my favorites when I was little and I still love it today. Back when I first saw The Burbs, I appreciated the crazy moments, and the image of suburbia. Everything was cozy and familiar, yet had an air of mystery and danger. It catches that sense of what a suburban town in the 80's was like to a kid, even though it's from the point of view of adults.
Today, that sense still sticks, but now I enjoy the character and situational humor. It's great how the film pokes fun at the men home on vacation. How they all start acting like children at the first hint of adventure. They all seemed to be out playing with toys. The other part that I appreciate are the nods to horror movies and melodramas. It worked perfectly with the story and mood.
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Great game to movie conversion
Ah the memories! I first saw Mortal Kombat in the seventh grade on VHS. My mom rented it and in the three day window, I watched it seven times and I still enjoy it today. My main gripe with the movie is a lack of a Scorpion vs. Sub Zero battle royal, but that can be forgiven due to the Lu Kang vs. Reptile fight scene alone.
Aside from the video game elements, the story is reminiscent of old school kung fu movies. Many parts rip off Enter the Dragon, but we're watching MK for the fight scenes and techno music not a brilliant and original plot.
7/10
G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
Enjoyable, but Missing a few things.
I grew up with the GI Joe cartoons and Toys as well as the Transformers, Star Wars, Kung Fu movies, The A-Team, and everything you'd expect a kid to watch in the 80's. I remember seeing this on TV in the early 90's, and I liked it then.
I picked up the DVD last year (it's worth it for the "knowing is half the battle" PSA's), and I can say that I enjoyed it more on some levels, and less on others.
For the good, it had Don Johnson and I knew who he would give his voice to before he spoke. I kind of got a kick out o that. There was also the typical GI Joe/A-Team fire fights, where shots were fired and stuff blows up everywhere, but nobody is hurt. Is it in any sense realistic? No. Is it fun to watch? Actually, yes.
They also kept much of the score from the cartoon intact, which preserved some of the feel.
None of the new characters really grated me, but I felt like they drowned out the old familiar ones. I've never been a huge Serpentor fan, so I would have liked more Destro and Cobra Commander action. The new Cobra history was iffy, but it doesn't really take away from the movie.
Now what the movie is really missing is ninja action. Sure, we have Jinx, but she is nothing compared to Snake-Eyes and Stormshadow. We do get to see Snake-Eyes looking hard core in the background here and there, but that's it and Stormshadow is only in one scene at the beginning. Come on! It's GI Joe: The Movie (even if it never hit the big screen). Don't hold back. Give us an epic Stormshadow vs. Snake-Eyes fight.
All in all, it felt like a longer episode of GI Joe, but not like an all out movie. It's still enjoyable, but could have been more.
Island of the Dead (2000)
Needed Zombies.
Let me start out by saying that I'm glad I saw this one for free on cable. The opening credits were done very well, showing an eerie view of the cityscape, making it look like a ghost town, and actually built hopes for an okay movie. That's really what bumps this one up from a one to a two.
I'll also say that the acting was better than the movie warranted.
After that, we are treated to cardboard cutouts of characters, who would have been okay in the standard over the top gore flick, but that's not what we have. No, this one tries to shove a social message and some semblance of substance down our throats. There is some gore, but nothing to phone home about.
For the baddie of the film, we get flies. This could have worked out well, but the action lacked tension and dread. Again, it's probably because I did not care the characters. They did whatever they did simply because the script told them to.
Island of the Dead is watchable, but don't pay to see it.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Ask not what your rest home can do for you, but what you can do for your rest home.
I'd found out about Bubba Ho-Tep while looking for information on Phantasm V, and had been following it for a while before it hit DVD. It's a shame they didn't get a wide distribution. I have to give props to Joe R. Lansdale, who wrote the original story Bubba Ho-Tep for coming up with such an off the wall premise and making it believable and down to Earth at the same time.
I bought the DVD the first week it was out and loved it. I forced everyone in my household to watch it and I've been recommending it to people. I've heard some complaints that the plot moved too slow, but I don't think it would have worked out any other way. The plot moved at the pace of the elderly characters. I got a lot of the humor and was able to relate to the characters and their situation, and I'm a youngin'.
The mummy itself is not the main thing to fear, but a symbol of death and decay, and an addition of insult to injury. The inevitability of death and the indifference of those who don't have to face it yet is the real monster.
The rest home itself was tomblike, and gave off creepy vibes in daylight (I got the same chills I had when I first saw the inside of the mortuary in Phantasm).
The acting was superb for a low budget picture, with Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis nailing their roles. The filmmakers also made great use of JFK and Elvis paraphernalia (keep your eyes peeled). Also, the what if angle on JFK worked perfectly. I bought it!
The film itself struck an emotional town with some serious themes and the musical score works perfectly with the movie. I have the main theme to the movie stuck in my head every time I watch the movie.
I really have no complaints.
10/10
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
I was not disappointed!
I'll try to keep this spoiler free, but there might be some minor ones ahead.
As a zombie nut and a casual fan of English humor, I've been waiting Shaun to hit the US since before it's UK release back in April. I hadn't watched a movie in theaters since 1999, but I held out and did not view the internet captures or the bootlegs that were out over the summer. I wanted to see this one in the theaters and had high hopes.
On Thursday, I caught an advanced screening, and Shaun of the Dead delivered! As a zombie fan, I dug the nods to other zombie movies that popped up throughout the movie and the use of the Goblin soundtrack from Dawn of the Dead. The scene where Shaun and Ed finally notice that the dead are walking is hilarious, and the reactions to the zombies were well done in a human and dead pan manner. I'll just say that I agree with a lot of people who have said that this is right up there with Romero's trilogy and is the best zombie movie I have seen since at least the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead.
The rest of the audience enjoyed the movie, and laughed in many of the same spots I did, so it wasn't just me.
I'll probably see this one again before it hits DVD in the states, and I recommend anyone else to give Shaun of the Dead a view.