Reviews

An amusing satire of the French 'little people' inhabiting the working class neighbourhoods of Lower Quebec City. Skewed archetypical characters struggle with encroaching 'outsider' values, as well as meekly rebel against the paternal control by a conflicted French Catholic ruling class. Done with such a light, loving touch, that the viewer isn't crushed by the import of this historical watershed in Quebec history.

Judging by the cover art and title, I thought this'd be another Santa slasher flick. What a surprise when I found myself hooked on a story that builds around a solid dramatic core, with excellent performances, an eerie story line and excellent cinematography.

Those who want cheesy gore (and there's nothing wrong with that) will be disappointed unless they can appreciate the finely nuanced black humour that this movie provides in spades.

My second favourite yule story, right after "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

My biggest qualm about this movie is that it is just a 'short'. As it is, it qualifies as an eetsie-weetsie gem.

'Harry Knuckles' is a kitchen sink comedy that alternates between parody and pastiche of various B-movie genres, such as kung fu flicks, zombie movies, and third-rate Bond wannabes.

Throw in a fresh approach to banana jokes, and you've got a winner. Lee Demarbre directs, doing justice to an inventive script by Ian Driscoll.

Yes, the score is perfect. The music enriches the movie in many different ways --it adds to the plot, deftly underlines the character's emotions, satirizes the pop industry, etc... and is also just damn fun to listen to. And yes, the casting is phenomenal. Not only for the leads, but for the secondary characters, and even the quasi-extras (with at most three lines) manage to shine. And yes, yes, yes, the plot is delightfully clever. High drama, low comedy, and sharp satire. DePalma in top form.

This messy (but messy in a good way) movie does a great job spoofing rednecks, cowboys, psychiatrists and slasher flicks. The star, Tommy Blaze, is a true chameleon of comedy. Pair it up with another Troma parody, such as Blondes Have More Guns or When Nature Calls, and you'll have a delightful yukfest of an evening.

I never read the book that this movie is based on, but I suspect it contains the plot details which the movie just supplies on a whim, if at all. As a matter of fact, the movie just feels like a compilation of the book's every second chapter's climax. You'd might think this skipstone structure a major flaw, but strangely enough, you'd be wrong. This flick is a delight --the rap-atap cadence of perfunctory set-ups and upsets thrilled me to the bone. Of all of Belmondo's French gangster pictures, this is the one he should be remembered for.

This movie doesn't even feel like a movie --it's more like a New Age seminar that deals with Big Questions by using hollow bromides and syrupy CGI. This movie is so vapid I actually get angry just thinking about it. I'd be very suspicious about the mental health of anybody who enjoyed it.

This movie was my introduction to Grisham. After viewing it, I felt I would have been better off being introduced to a wad of bubble gum clogging up a rusty drain. The premise to the film plays false, and the ensuing plot has more holes in it than a junkie. That'd be forgivable, if the characters were enjoyable, but they're not. Low point of the movie: the scene where the lawyer and the brat bare their souls, talking about their lousy childhoods. Since when did surviving a lousy childhood make you some kind of special person? It's that New Age hoky victims-are-beautiful psychobabble at work here. Maybe that's why Grisham is so popular. God forbid it's because of his idiotic sense of plot.

The problem with seeing this movie on the small screen is that the effectiveness of the great and horrifying ballroom scene is much diminished. That sequence is like watching a surreal car crash in slow motion. It still haunts me, almost thirty years later!

Too bad the characters aren't well developed, which is the biggest 'minus' to this movie. Just the same, they're kinda fun, and only detract slightly from the terrifying circumstances that are, after all, the whole point of a disaster movie.

This movie sports many moments of pure magic. This film was my first introduction to George C. Scott, and to my mind, this was his best role ever, even surpassing the work he did in Dr. Strangelove and The Hospital.

And that soundtrack! An excellent score, indeed!

Of all the silent comedies, this is easily my favourite. Move over, Charlie Chaplin fans, and acknowledge that Buster Keaton is the real master of physical comedy! The finale, where Buster is running down a mountain side as he's being bombarded by big boulders from a rock slide, is jaw-dropping hilarious. A must-see. P.S. Avoid the 1999 remake. An insult to the original.

Cheap budget? Yes. Creative script that makes up for low production values? Very much so! I first thought, judging from the title and box cover, that this'd be one of these cheezy Troma sex-flicks. Not so. This movie is an amusing exercise in whimsy, with oodles of charm and pleasantly goofy. Best appreciated by cat-lovers, who'll get the inside jokes.

Midgets, blind children, biker chicks and zombies. Throw them all together and you get one heckuva fun movie. A deft mix of parody, gross-out humour and hokey melodrama makes this one of Troma's better efforts. Watch for Billy Bob Thornton in an early screen appearance.

This is the kind of movie I never thought possible. Fast and furious, this movie's infectious energy makes double espressos seem like tepid water. Cornball humour and an affectionate feel for the truly bizarre are just two elements that propel this over-the-top meditation on the human condition.

Tired of all these typical Hollywood macho blast'em all pics? Does the name Rambo elicit in you flu-like symptoms? Well, Troma's War is the cure for you! A perfect send-off of La-la-land's testosterone pics! Unlike, say, the "Hot Shots" parodies, this flick's satire has a lot of bite.

This movie captures the mood and feel of many a bad 50s B Horror flick, and then adds a few twists that'll bring smiles to your face. The actors do an excellent job of keeping a straight face while delivering bad dialogue. The movie's one-tone humor causes it to sag in the middle, but that is more than made up for by the inspired and silly ending.

I think it was François Truffaut who said that the best movies either involve the joy of making movies, or the agony of making movies. This flick is definitely of the first type. Tromeo and Juliet is a pleasure to watch from start to finish. The zany zeal fuelling this Shakespearian shenanigan is infective. I don't think I've laughed so hard since I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's that good!

When I first rented this movie, I was expecting a cheesy soft-core porn, good for laughing at, not laughing with. What a pleasant surprise when I discovered that it's actually a charming comedy. The low budget limitations are more than compensated for thanks to the creative script. There's even a goofy romance element to the plot that could even qualify this a date movie (but just make sure that you and your date share a taste for the whimsical).