Scarlata1966 Reviews

Alien Planet (2004 TV Movie)

Great fun of the imagination

[10/10 · 19 March 2008]

I just love this program and watch it quite a bit. Not only is it full of very imaginative creatures, but it does so logically. The makers realize that a biosphere of a planet must follow the rules of evolutionary descent and unity of common body plans. Things like bipedalism, bioluminescence and facial shape are kept consistent through all of Darwin IV's creatures. Their oddly shaped "eyes" are really creepy looking, kinda looks like the thing that Alec Baldwin turned himself into in BEETLEJUICE. Some of the creatures are bordering on the far-fetched, but they're so well-conceived and fun, who cares. My only criticism would be the name Darwin IV. It just seemed a little too obvious.

The Wide World of Mystery: Alien Lover (1975) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

A masterpiece of TV-movie horror (partial spoiler)

[13 September 2004]

Hunting down this puppy's identity for over 25 years has been one of my great quests. The problem was that I totally forgot that Kate Mulgrew played the girl. Of course, now it makes sense. She did Ryan's hope, ABC, this was ABC Night Mystery Movie, whatever. I finally discovered what it was doing a key-word search, only because I did remember it was part of this mystery movie thing, that slightly pre-dated Nightline for the late night ABC slot. In my opinion, this series of creepy, soap-opera looking stage productions is a forgotten jewel of TV history. The director, Lela Swift was apparently a veteran director of "Dark Shadows", so making movies in this kind of video-staged format wasn't anything new. It all had shades of the British "Thriller" program. It's absolutely amazing how scary a format shift can be, BLAIR WITCH being a good example.

Aside from the format look, the plot of this movie is at the core of its terror. This was like Rod Serling golden age stuff. Too bad he didn't get a chance to see it. He died the year it premiered. The plot summary was wrong. The TV guy wasn't from another galaxy, but another dimension. Just the idea of this guy trying to worm his way into our universe was enough to creep me out. And the guy who played Marc had that classic 70's Freddy Mercury look to him. So, in a way, it played off that whole teen idol appeal from that time period. No. There's no great special effects in it, just a series of chilling ideas and images. This is one of those movies where the bulk of the terror is released by a revelation ending. How scary is the ending? Let me put it this way. I saw this when I was 9 years-old and put my hands over my eyes during the ending. I just might do it again if I ever ran across it. Sure hope to run into Kate one of these days and ask her about it.

Strike Force (1981–2018)

remember it well

[9 March 2004]

The character line-up of this show was similar to that of "The New F.B.I"., which came out about the same time. There was a tough Irish main cop, a jiggly woman, an all-American guy, a minority and a charming Italian. This was during that A-Team era, where you had a groups of elite cops protecting the entire city. They just don't make cop shows like that anymore. The one episode I recall the most was this one staring The Late Robert Ridley (from BOOGIE NIGHTS), who played this drug dealing kid's clown. He was pretty creepy. Ike Eisenmann is in the episode, too. Funny, can't find this on his page.

Throwing Down (1995)

Very amusing caper flick

[4 November 2002]

This is a typical modern caper flick, in the Pulp Fiction tradition, with groups of slackers and crooks colliding with one another. The movie manages to keep the plot twists fresh and clever. Colleen Werthmann turns in a great performance as this redneck grundge chick.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Great Guy Movie

[4 October 2002]

When first viewing GLENGARRY...., I couldn't help but think of Thoreau's line "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." Except, in this version, it's more like loud desperation. The theme of the movie is real simple and potent, all human power grows out of a person's ability to make money now. Who you were, who you know, how long you been doing it don't matter much. There are no women in the movie, and the only woman mentioned is Lemmon's daughter, who's dying in the hospital. So, the maternal life force of creation is ripped away, leaving only the death force of men destroying one another. Jack Lemmon's character is a guy who would like to believe that he was more like Al Pacino, a man he admires and not like Moss, the loud mouth loser. But, Pacino can make a sale in a bar to a total stranger, and doesn't have to show up to meetings, while Lemmon is stuck begging for lead cards.

They say that the saleman is drama's most tragic character, because their jobs are so intertwined with their human worth. As someone who occasionally worked in cold sales, there's nothing greater than that feeling of conquering a lead. But, if you fail, your soul is emptier than your wallet.

Favorite piece of dialogue: "What's your name?" "F**k you, that's my name! You drove a Hundai to get to work! I drove an $80,000 BMW! That's my name!"

Supervixens (1975)

comic masterpiece

[26 September 2002]

Without a doubt, the first 10 minutes of Supervixens is one of the best pieces of comic film editing I've ever seen. If there's anyone who's interested in figuring out how to quick cut images with dialogue in order to create a comic effect, watch this. Most of Meyer's movies are pretty bad, but there are three that are great and this is one of them. Meyer creates a surreal American landscape, where people are all endowed with unreal sex parts, all the woman bare the title "super", and ex-nazi's are gas station owners. The movie is filled with in-your-face phallic symbols and the scene with Super Angel and the cop is absolutely hysterical. Can't wait until this is on DVD.

The 300 Year Weekend (1971)

very different

[25 September 2002]

This tv movie was very entertaining and daring. It nearly took place in real time, involving several people at an encounter group. It's full of detailed and involving characters. Had a documentary feel to it. There was one guy in the group who was constantly threatening people's lives. I've talked with guy who was at such a group, and that seemed plausible.

Safe (1995)

the best of the 90's

[24 September 2002]

This is definitely one of the best, an unknown, American films of the 90's. It's a scathing satire on upper middle class values. Juliana Moore gave the performance of a life time. I can't believe she wasn't nominated for an Oscar. She did a great job playing a weak and not-too-bright woman, who is completely alienated by wealth she didn't earn. The underlying socio-economics of the movie are quite clear. Environmental illness is the kind of disease only rich, bored people can afford to be afflicted with. Of the two halves of the movies, the first part is the most effective, but Peter Friedman is the ultimate touchy-feely guru. This is also one of the best color composing I've seen in recent years. Hayes went out of his way to make sure each scene was filled with purples, pinks, yellows and other pastels. The movie has an incredible feel of realism, also. The characters sounded and looked like real people.

Clean, Shaven (1993)

haunting masterpiece

[24 September 2002]

I had the opportunity of seeing Lodge Kerrigan in person when the movie premiered in Chicago. He did a lot of research on the subject, as well as his sound man. I thought it was one of the most intense visual and audio experiences I've even been exposed to. The first 10 minutes alone is worth the price of admission. Most of the plot is a careful character study of a deranged mind. The missing child plot is only there to comment on our perception of violence in the mentally ill.

The Spell (1977 TV Movie)

kinda creepy

[24 September 2002]

There's one scene in the movie that always stood out in my head. A woman is walking down a flight of stairs, when she is overtaken by one of these spells. Her tongue turns purple and smoke comes out of her head. It was very shocking the way the attack just seemed to come out of nowhere.