higeswhiskers Reviews

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The most over-rated film of all time

[1/10 · 20 August 2005]

I cannot understand people's infatuation with this film. Come on people, The Wiz is better than this, and that had Michael Jacksn in it. Michael Jackson, people!

What's my problem with this? How everybody talks about it like it's the best movie on the planet. I watched it, I wasn't impressed. The lines were delivered alright, but just overall, I wasn't impressed. Sure, back in it's time, it might have been revolutionary . . . but I preferred Predator over this when I first saw Wiz of Oz back in 1995. Sorry, folks, not a lot of evidence to back-up my opinion, but my brain hurts just thinking of this terrible piece of garbage. The only part I liked was when the credits started rolling!

My rating: 1/10

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Stupendous Film

[10/10 · 11 July 2005]

A couple years back, a movie called Kill Bill, Vol. 1 was released. It was written and directed by a man named Quentin Tarantino and made quite a bit of money. Well, before Kill Bill was released, Tarantino was well-known to independent film watchers for two films: Pulp Fiction (1994) and Reservoir Dogs (1991).

Reservoir Dogs is about a small-time crime boss named Joe Cabot, his son, "Nice Guy" Eddie, and the six armed robbers Joe hires to steal a diamond from a bank: Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Blue. However, the robbery goes to hell quicker than you can say, "Mr. Giggle Stompstomp."

Mr. Blue and Mr. Brown are killed and Mr. Orange is shot in the stomach. The four remaining "Reservoir Dogs" suspect that one of them is a cop, and they must decide who it is by the end of the film.

The casting is great: Steve Buscemmi shines as the cocky, somewhat arrogant Mr. Pink, Tim Roth is superb as the nice, charming Mr. Orange, Harvey Keitel is excellent as the sometimes funny, caring Mr. White, and Michael Madsen is truly believable in his performance as the evil madman, Mr. Blonde.

The soundtrack is pure hits from the '70s: Coconut, Little Green Bag, Stuck in the Middle With You, etc., and it blends perfectly into the film's wacky, diabolical tone.

This movie isn't for the squeamish: Lots of shooting, ears getting lopped-off, and other gruesome images lie around the corner.

One of my favorites, I give Reservoir Dogs a 10 out of 10.

Sin City (2005)

One Of My Favorites

[8/10 · 24 April 2005]

What if there was a city where crime was accepted? Where hookers controlled one side of the city, and police controlled the other? There is no justice without sin, and that is the point of Frank Miller's Sin City.

Three intertwining tales of love, deceit, betrayal, and death are the segments told in Sin City. In one of the three, a brute feels the need to exact revenge on the people that killed the woman he loved and also framed him for the murder of her. In the second, a man and a group of hookers must try to prevent a war from erupting between them and the mafia. In the third, and final, story, an ex-police officer must protect an exotic dancer from a yellow madman.

The three main characters are Marv, an unstoppable hulk, Dwight, a man who must deal with a dead cop's body or have all Hell break loose, and Hartigan, an ex-cop who must protect an exotic dancer from an insane congressman's child-molesting son. Of course, there are other characters: Nancy, the exotic dancer who, over eight years, falls in love with Hartigan; Gail, the leader of the hookers and Dwight's love interest; Kevin, the cannibal that killed the only woman that Marv loved; Jackie-Boy, the maniac police officer; Yellow Bastard/Junior, the psychopath who plans to kill Hartigan and impregnate Nancy; and the enigmatic Businessman, who is a hit-man.

The genre is mostly action for Sin City. Even though the film is graphic (severed heads and limbs at every corner, and don't forget the excessive gun play), all of the violence is justified, and isn't just there for shock value, which is what I thought when I went to watch it the first time (for I've seen it twice). Upon watching it the second time, the violence did seem excessive, but some of it was still enjoyable (a character is shot through the chest with an arrow, points at it, and says, "Hey, look at this! Ow, that really hurts.").

So, now I must tell you my closing thoughts for Sin City. Well, what can go wrong when Michael Madsen and Nick Stahl are part of the supporting cast, and Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Mickey Rourke make-up the main cast? As I stated above, the actions are justified, and all of the characters are well-rounded and believable. I've heard of a Sin City 2 in production already staring Johnny Depp, and after seeing Sin City, I would see the sequel in a heartbeat. I was blown-away by the stories, the cast, and the special effects in the movie and would gladly see Sin City a third time.

My Grade: 97%

Alien Apocalypse (2005 TV Movie)

I Thought It Was Good

[7/10 · 1 April 2005]

Let's get this straight: The Sci-Fi Channel makes B-movies (as if Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys and Mansquito didn't make that apparent enough), but for people like me, I actually enjoy b-movies. So, when I heard that the Sci-Fi Channel was going to release a movie starring Bruce Campbell (my favorite actor), I was thrilled. Also, when I heard that Josh Becker Rob Tapert (two of the makers of the original Evil Dead) had written it, I was equally excited. So, the night came around, and I watched it. It opened promising enough, except for the whining girl. Thank God she was the first to go. It was slightly disappointing, yes, I'll give it that, but overall, I enjoyed Alien Apocalypse. The acting was cheesy, the special effects lacked heavily, and Bruce Campbell's occasional one-liners were placed here-and-there, and those aspects, to me, made the movie. Give me a Bruce Campbell movie any day, and I'll happily watch it. Give me a Bruce Campbell movie made by the Sci-Fi Channel and I'll watch it immediately. I can't understand why people are dissing this movie so much because, face it folks, Sci-Fi Channel isn't here to make high-quality movies. It delivers what the title promises: Science fiction movies, and bad ones, at that. I mean, come on, folks, these are the same guys that made Species 3 for crying out loud.

Aaagh! It's the Mr. Hell Show! (2000–2002)

Worth watching twice

[7/10 · 11 March 2005]

Mr. Hell is a TV show that has to be watched multiple times to understand the plot. At the core, it's about a Devilish-looking creature named Mr. Hell. Hes single, has a son, and every episode shows us an assortment of different animated shorts, including Serge the Killer Seal Pup (he just kills anyone and everyone), Josh (a human who dies and always comes back to life in the form of a different animal, just to be killed again and come back again, etc.), Champion the Wonder Snail (saves people, but very slow), etc. One thing can be said, though: This show is not for children. It may poke fun at movies such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, but this show is intended to be watched by adults because of the language used in it. So, what else can be said of The Mr. Hell Show? It's one of the best cult-animated TV shows I've ever seen, and whoever viewed it and approved it to be aired on Showtime: I thank you! My rating: 9/10

Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (2004 TV Movie)

Baby Oopsy kicked my butt!

[7/10 · 19 December 2004]

When I first heard about this cross-over, I was eager to watch it, because I've always liked the Puppet Master movies. The only problem was, I had never seen any of the Demonic Toys movies.

But, that wasn't a problem because PM vs. DT didn't have much to do with the DT story-line, or so I've been told. And as for the Puppets . . .

Well, I like how Blade, Pinhead, and Six-Shooter were in it, but, Jester? Why not Drill Sergeant, or Lady Leech? Hell, even Cyclops or Dr. Death would've been better than Jester!

But I digress. The story was enjoyable, and Corey Feldman's acting seemed to be straight out of a '50's B-movie (This Island Earth ring a bell?).

I would've preferred it if the Demonic Toys were in it more, but the Puppets were VERY enjoyable. This is one Puppet Master movie that I will watch again-and-again.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Wolf's Rain (2003–2004)

The best anime around.

[10/10 · 18 December 2004]

Following the success of Cowboy Bebop and Rah-Xephon, BONES created this 30-part anime about four wolves on their search for Rakuen (Paradise) . . . And it's terrific! Both the Japanese and English cast is great, making the characters come alive, but the animation itself seems to be an homage to "old-school" animes like Lupin the 3rd and Case Closed.

The soundtrack is great, as well. Yoko Kano (who also composed for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) works her magic in this show, blending melodic tunes with enchanting lyrics and rock melodies with singers such as Steve Conte, Maaya Sakamoto, and Ilaria Graziano.

The characters, although mostly that of the canine variety, are very believable and, at times, quite lovable. You can feel Quent's grief, Toboe's happiness, and Kiba's determination to find Rakuen (Paradise).

As for the plot . . . either it takes place on a futuristic Earth or a different planet altogether (the creators don't really go in-depth about that). Anyways, a wolf wanders into Freeze City and eventually, over the course of the first three episodes, pairs-up with three other wolves to find Paradise.

My only problem with it is the ending, where the creators took the easy way out and killed-off all of the characters, seemingly following in the steps of Cowboy Bebop (where they killed-off the main character, Spike).

But I digress: Wolf's Rain contains one of, if not, the best storyline in anime history, and it has given me something that I could watch over-and-over-again. 10 out of 10.

It (1990)

Not as bad as other adaptations of King's

[6/10 · 18 December 2004]

When I read the book It, I was stunned at how Stephen King created all of these characters and all of the chills it sent down my spine. Upon watching the film adaptation, I wasn't disappointed. Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown is almost as good as his performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show. And the rest of the cast is terrific as well (although I think that Tim's performance is the best). When most Stephen King books/screenplays are adapted into movies, they're made into made-for-TV-movies, but that's not bad, either. Sure, the movie took out some of my favorite parts of the book and added-in parts that weren't really necessary, but overall it is one of Stephen King's greatest book-to-movie adaptations. Bravo, Mr. King. Bravo!