Lone-Wolf1 Reviews

Night of the Running Man (1995)

Scott Glenn Saves an Otherwise Mediocre Film

[6/10 · 21 August 2021]

Scott Glenn as a psycho killer is the best thing about this movie. The musical score, on the other hand, is terrible. The music is extraordinarily generic and wrong for pretty much every scene.

The director, Mark Lester, made some pretty good B movies, with Commando being one of the most famous. Night of the Running Man is one of his better films apart from Commando, his magnum opus in many ways.

Both Glenn's and McCarthy's (also McCarthy was not in Breakfast Club, despite the claims of another reviewer) characters make foolish decisions constantly throughout the film. The stupidity doesn't make any sense when one considers the film's internal logic, such as it is. For example, McCarthy knows he is being chased at one point but still gives his real name to everyone he meets even though this was back (pre 9/11 and Patriot Act) when one could easily use a pseudonym to travel.

Glenn does an excellent job with the awful script, and John Glover also has a minor role as an unusually solicitous hitman. In my opinion, Glenn's performance pushes the film from a 5 (average) to a 6 (slightly above average).

The Saga of Biorn (2011)

Interesting animated short with unique style

[7/10 · 5 August 2013]

This animated short has a very unique style, a hybrid of 3D and cel shading that lends a idiosyncratic aesthetic to the whole affair.

The storyline is simple, an aged viking wants to get into Valhalla (or as they refer to it "Valhöll") so he has to die in battle.

Unfortunately it seems that it is more difficult to die in battle than one would expect.

The aged viking encounters a variety of characters on his adventure, many of whom seem to be more dangerous than they actually turn out to be. His desire to die gloriously in battle continues to elude him.

Humorous, with an enjoyable ending, this short is recommended!

Meet the Fokkens (2011)

Interesting documentary about rarely discussed subject.

[7/10 · 29 April 2013]

The documentary "Meet the Fokkens" (Ouwehoeren) benefits from more than just a clever title.

The Red Light District of Amsterdam caters to many travelers from around the world, but has not been the subject of many documentaries. I was curious to discover exactly how the district functions in the legalization of normally illegal activities.

The documentary does not concentrate on those activities per se, but rather hones in on the lives of two of the district's long time residents. The trials and tribulations of these twin sisters give us a window onto the history of the district. Their lives highlight many of the difficulties that lead some to their profession.

This documentary shines a light on issues that need to be discussed.

She (1984)

Craziest movie ever!

[9/10 · 17 March 2006]

This is the craziest B-Movie I have ever seen, and I have seen a great deal of B-Movies.

The plot is fairly nonexistent. The movie makes much more sense if you approach it as a dream, just a bunch of random, seemingly disjointed events occurring in some sort of order.

For instance, the main character is a goddess, worshiped by her people, but they never explain or show any of her goddess powers and she seems to be injured very easily.

In one early scene she inexplicably has to battle her way through a cave full of cardboard boxes with various Boris Karloff style Frankenstein monsters hiding in them. (I think they had a sale at the local Halloween store)

She then has to travel across a post-apocalyptic landscape populated with antagonists ranging from Nazi football players who battle over boxes of cereal to psychotic barbarians in pink tutus living in plastic tents.

Anyone who considers themselves a connoisseur of B-Movies must watch this film. Basically the movie is so bad, it loops back around to become good again, then loops again to become bad, then FINALLY loops again to become one of the craziest, silliest, and zaniest movies in the history of cinema.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

For children

[1/10 · 5 August 2005]

This movie was obviously designed for children, and that does not forgive it for lacking any sort of depth or character interest whatsoever.

The director, Tim Story (Barbershop, Taxi), obviously has no experience with this kind of film and it shows.

The plot is full of non sequiturs and illogical plot points (the most grievous instance being when the Human Torch goes snowboarding/jumping out of a helicopter with his underwear model/nurse about three seconds after they meet)

Full of cheesy one-liners (the only funny ones being shown in the trailer, along with the only interesting action, which lasted for all of ten minutes of the movie)

I would only recommend this movie for small children, and even then I think there are plenty of more worthy films for them to watch released this summer (Willy Wonka, Sky High, etc.) Look at the reviews by the critics, they speak for themselves.

* out **** stars

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Best movie...ever..

[9/10 · 14 March 2004]

I cannot believe that the summary displayed is a wantonly insulting synopsis. It seems to me that this movie, not only communicating a deeply-meaningful feeling of "fear and loathing" at the end of the freedom and promise of the 60s as portrayed by one of the most creative writers of the 20th century.

Combine that with one of the best and most creative directors of recent times (Terry Gilliam) with the best actors of recent years (Depp and Del Toro) and you will have this amazing movie.

I am sorry if most people who watch this movie will not be intelligent nor open-minded enough to appreciate the genius of this movie.