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An error has ocurred. Please try againSome are obvious stars, others rise above the "That Guy" territory in my opinion. Part of it is consitency, but there's something more than just that. Descriptions to come...
I like to take chances, buy a dvd based on a hunch or just a brief review and I like to discover what I'll forever call cinematic "gems". Something out of the ordinary for people who are afraid of that sort of thing!
Maybe you've heard of the film but were never inspired to see it? I hope you try some! Here's my reasons why.
Reviews
Dahmer vs. Gacy (2010)
The Best Maverick Film-Making Since the Birth of John Waters...!
I didn't expect to be here reviewing this as a "10"! My expectations weren't low, but they weren't high either. It made a good bookend to my Gacy and Dahmer dvds I thought.
Wow! In an age where anyone with a digital camera can make a movie this B-fest reminds me of the early John Waters or Peter Jackson. When you actually borrowed money for film to FILM a movie! I love low-budget B-movies, or I can... if the creators put their hearts into it. Like "Necropolis Awakened", where the creators played all the parts and did all of the camera-work! Or Neil Stryker in "Evil Cult" by Neil and Rob Taylor!
Ford Austin just took this idea and went whole-hog with it, unabashed that the concept was both off-beat and offensive! If he'd tried to hold back or be pc, or 100% scientifically logical, he'd have fallen flat. Thank Zod he didn't! I laughed in the good way. The actors were great, Ford playing a duel role. Randal Malone's John Wayne Gacy came off as Divine's Babs Johnson re-incarnated and that's a GOOD thing! "That Guy" Art LaFleur is in it! Harland Williams is God! Bonnie Aarons has a new fan club member in me. Argh, I almost forgot to mention Ethan Phillips (from ST:Voyager)!
I have never been this taken-in by a film since my first Waters days. It was too good to last, I half-expected it to fall apart at any time as I've been disappointed before. The dialogue kept coming faster and heavier and I expected the actors to get trapped under the weight of it all but Ford and Randall and Bonnie were at the top of their game, very impressive. Again for a low-budget films without all of the re-takes and dubbing and tricks to make things look flawless. Not once did I cringe when an actor opened their mouths. Great music, clever editing and a bit of fast-motion and even black & white tinting were superbly done.
I put this up there with "Pink Flamingos", "Bad Taste", "Evil Dead" and I will follow Ford Austin's career wherever it goes. Hey, I love mainstream, I sing along with "The Sound of Music", I got teary-eyed at "Titanic" and I have the extended LOTR trilogies. I'm "normal". ;) I recommend this to my fellow film-fans.
The End
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Doubt (2004)
Amazingly Brilliant...!
I just watched this in a re-run obviously, and I'm sorry the first reviewer had such a bad start watching L&O.
Unlike another L&O title I reviewed that had a plain bad ending, this one has no ending. Another reviewer said that NBC allowed people to vote but bottom line, it ends just before the guilty or not guilty is announced. YOU be the jury. That's what it was building up to for the entire episode.
For a moment I thought it was a two-parter, then quickly realized it wasn't. In the next two seconds I went from mad to amazed at how excellently they plotted this episode. We DO get too used to a tidy ending on TV. This way we get to decide. No one's going to jail here, they're fictional! So if we're wrong, no biggie!
I was in a "He said, she said" situation for real and the detective dropped the case for that very reason. It's eye-opening.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Weeping Willow (2006)
Good Episode Ruined By the Ending... Geez!
I hesitated to write this but then I wondered to myself, would I liked to have been warned beforehand or not?! After some thought I decided yes, I wish someone would've warned me and I wouldn't've had TV-rage at the end! I thought the "was it real or not" suspense throughout almost the entire episode WAS great, I didn't know, and the detectives didn't know, and struggled with the dilemma of erring on the side of it being real.
So for that it was fun. As others have written, the ending? No one prosecuted for major fraud? Holden is faking death on a morgue table one minute and back with Willow the next scene? She doesn't question that? She empties their million dollars? The city didn't hold them legally responsible for the fraud costs?
I can't believe it's because one guy committed manslaughter. Every thing else they did was all major intentional fraud and mis-use of police resources. I'm used to hurried endings sometime, but not this.
Amazingly lame. :(
Without a Trace: White Balance (2006)
I Tried to Give It More Than One Star...
Because many if not most parts of this episode deserved it, as always. "WAT" is a great show with a superb cast.
Those extra stars will have to remain invisible and contained only in the words of my review. Much has been made about how brilliant the ending was. And it was! SPOILERS comin'! To end a show with a a known but un-revealed outcome isn't a new plot device. And for a moment I liked the "one is alive and one is dead" ending just before confronting the two mothers. But... we invested so much of our own investigating in our minds, following the complexity of forced virgin prostitution, paid grade cheating, runaway father, rebellious tattoos, white missing girl vs. black missing boy vs. the higher-ups and the press... that basically, following all of that was for nothing.
Where did Emily go after leaving the hotel? Theoretically she should've returned home alive, because Darnell had an excuse for his absence, caring for his father. But that still doesn't explain him not returning home earlier, unless the events between meeting his dad and his dad's death were more compact.
If one were alive, they would not have been missing for over 48 hours! So even the timeline they fed us might be misleading. Too much work and involvement leading up to guess who 'won" in the end, the white or black mother. The latter who of course didn't aggressively pursue the media as suggested by Vivian! WTH? Thank you and enjoy!
Mike & Molly: Samuel Gets Fired (2011)
"Samuel Gets Fired"... I Mean, Really...?
I'd heard so much good buzz on "Mike & Molly", it wasn't convenient for me to watch but tonight at 9 it was on, I think because of Obama's speech. No spoilers that aren't already in the IMDb summary! So I started it. And I'm sorry fans, but I seriously could not comprehend such an obviously recycled plot. It was all coming from a mile away! I thought I was psychic for a moment, but darn!
Samuel mentions his rent is up but he needs a raise. Carl offers to talk to the boss. Samuels says no, Carl insists. Mike says don't interfere. Carl interferes. The boss fires Samuel. Samuel has to go live with Mike.
Asian boss makes some fat jokes. Samuel wants to invite "lady-friends" over. Samuel overstays his un-welcome. New female Asian waitress yells at people and stab forks in their eggs so she can go back and watch "Oprah". Comedy ensues...*yawn*.
Then according to the IMDb summary Mike comes up with a plan and all is happy in the end! I seriously hope this isn't indicative of the show as a whole, but I probably wouldn't voluntarily watch it again. :(
Wolfman (1979)
I Also Have a Soft Spot For This Movie!
Earl is a low-key and likable actor, the storyline is basic and takes some care in introducing the characters before going into the Wolfman scenes. Some over-the-top maniacal laughter on the bad guys part early on is a riot, and shows you where they stand! It must be me but every time I watch it I think it's set in Olde England, until the Sheriff shows up and I realize it's set in the US. The name Colin Glascow doesn't help! It's not going to terrify anyone but few horror films do any more which is why plot and character is important. This gives me the feel of a retro monster mash type flick. Simplicity, the kind of film I'd make if I had a little money. Better to make an effort like this than nothing at all! It's not laughable in an Ed Wood type way, at least not to me. Maybe it's just the anti-Twilight male models, anti-CGI aspect that makes this a nostalgic nice little flick.