benjambment Reviews

Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996 Video)

Don't compare it, just have fun with it!

[10/10 · 14 August 2001]

People keep trying to compare this to some of the old "film greats" or to the first three movies. The most obvious thing about this movie from the very beginning is that it's not ANYTHING like any of the above - have fun with it people! It's not meant to be deep and philosophical, well-made, scary, or new and refreshing - it's meant to be FUN! Make sure you keep this in mind when viewing this movie and I guarantee you'll have a GREAT time!

This movie is so BAAAAD that it's GOOOOOOOOOD! On the bad/good continuum it comes full-circle and is one of my favorites of all time!

Most movies/stories have some sort of exposition, as in they tell why the Leprechaun is doing X or why this place is important, or how the antagonist got into his current position. This movie, heck no - you're thrown right into the midst of an already-happening plotline, no explanation, no reason why the Leprechaun's on some alien world with a hot chick, NOTHING! That's great! They didn't even TRY to make up a silly story to explain the badness, they just went with it!

Most movies have the gratuitous nude shot, be it just a breast, full frontal nudity, etc. This one does too, and the timing of it makes it HILARIOUS! *Just* when you're thinking "Hm, where's the obligatory gratuitous nude scene?" BAM! It hits you, and the context leaves your sides hurting from laughter.

They tried their hardest to get their point across that they're NOT being serious at all, and they do it well. This movie starts bad, gets weird, and then gets worse, and they don't pull any punches. There are random pants-eating scenes, mutants, and when you think you've seen it all, they throw in cross-dressing cybernetic marines!!

Rent it, think of Mystery Science Theater 3000, get some friends, and be prepared for the funniest movie you've ever seen!

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Formulaic movies are popular these days...

[1/10 · 30 July 2001]

Anyone care to tell me where they got the horses from? Were there horses on the ship when it crashed? Were there gorillas? Hmm, I don't seem to remember them being there... Not that gorillas could leap 30 feet into the air anyway. And someone find me that computer - it can tell what the year is even through a time-warp!

So we go through this horrid excuse for a movie not really ever knowing the names of more than maybe 3 characters - I managed to pick up 2. And to boot, Estella Warren has like 10 lines in the movie - she's basically Darth Maul all over again, but with a supermodel body instead of a lightsaber. Character development, which is crucial to any good story, is completely lacking - some characters sort of get a real cheesy and formulaic revelation near the end, but the hero and antagonist stay the exact same throughout the whole movie.

Sure, everyone's saying "well, they were up against a lot when they decided to re-make an old classic," which is true, but they didn't make a good movie - they just took the standard sci-fi / horror / action movie plotline and put apes in the place of villans. It's a formula and it's really really sad, and regardless of what movie they're trying to remake, going with the standard formula will satisfy the masses, but it won't ever be a "good" movie.