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Reviews
Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
Horrible on all levels...
Wow - What a stinker! This ridiculous excuse for a bio-pic is even worse than most Lifetime movies (who helped produce this piece of crap).
Even forgetting the landmark Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway classic (hard to do - but it can be done lol)... this mini-series has two horrible leads (and co-stars that seem as though they have no clue what is going on), a psychic Clyde, events that not only never happened but are inplausable in the extreme, meandering and boring scenes (this could have easily been a 90 minute movie as is) and has a vibe of a ultra low budget direct to video production.
In true Lifetime style, they even re-write Bonnie as the brains behind the robbing and killing... when in real life it was Clyde who took terrible advantage of this Texas waitress. I also "love" how they've painted Clyde into this hunky dream boat love maker when by all accounts it was his male companions that got most of his attention back in the day... sigh.
Not even interested in Part Two... what a waste.
The Wolfman (2010)
Ignore the naysayers - The Wolfman is a welcome return to the horror movies of yesteryear.
Despite what the naysayers are whining on about, "The Wolfman" is a great flick, especially for those of us who have fond memories of the old school horror movies from Universal and Hammer studios eras.
And I know, I know, even some of the fans of those studios are taking swipes at this film, forgetting that some of their same exact arguments were once used against the originals themselves from critics of their times.
So let me be clear here - if you are expecting "The Wolfman" to be the "Gone With the Wind" of horror movies, or expect it to be the second coming in terms of the genre, you are in for a big disappointment. It's neither of those things... thank God.
What it is however is a sleek, fun and sometimes scary horror film that for once is devoid of dead teenagers, guys in hockey masks, blaring rock soundtracks from bands that will be forgotten a week after the film opens and dumb humor (that usually destroys most modern horror movies).
There's nothing too original here; guy gets bit by a werewolf, suffers the curse of the damned, is pursued by angry citizens, etc.
It's wonderful to see a modern movie look this "old" too. The colors are muted in some scenes as to suggest black and white. Fun too is the welcome return of the werewolf staples like silver bullets, fog enshrouded woods, the full moon and of course, the howling.
The movie, again despite what you are reading elsewhere from people who are obviously more into romantic comedies than horror flicks, isn't really that gory. Yes, there are some pretty intense attack scenes but you've seen worse on almost any television crime drama over the past decade. While I wouldn't take a 10 year old kid to see "The Wolfman" I wouldn't say that it really deserved the "R" rating.
Del Toro is effectively brooding and is always believable as the cursed Larry Talbot. Hopkins is icy cool as his father who has his own issues to deal with.
The film itself is beautiful. The cinematography, the surreal flashbacks, etc all play out within a plot that includes ample amounts of armchair psychology, amazing special effects (even the CGI - as much as I hate it - looked good) and atmosphere so thick that you can cut it with a knife (or werewolf claw).
Overall - this is a fantastic and welcome return of the horrors of yesteryear. Leave your brain and your lofty expectations at the door and enjoy.
= rev greg=
The Pearl of Death (1944)
One of the best of the Rathbone/Bruce series
Yet another solid entry in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes movies.
This one will be of interest to fans of classic horror films as it features appearances of genre stars Evelyn Ankers (The Wolfman/Ghost of Frankenstein) and Rondo Hatton (House of Horrors/The Brute Man).
The story involves the theft of the "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal Regent Museum and a series of murders that occur soon after the heist.
Mysteriously, each murder victim is found with their backs broken and their bodies surrounded by smashed china and plaster.
It's up to Holmes and Watson to piece together (literally) the clues to find the location of the invaluable "Pearl of Death" before the bad guys do.
Fast paced and entertaining.
Loosely based on the Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes story, "The Six Napoleons".
Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)
Odd, but entertaining zombie film from the 1950's!
While in no way a classic film, "The Zombies of Mora Tau" is an important one in the development of the genre of "living dead" cinema.
It would take another ten years for a young director named George A. Romero to perfect the zombie film with "Night of the Living Dead", but the roots of that legendary film can easily be traced back to this production(and the Edward Cahn's other living dead flick, "Invisible Invaders").
The film wastes no time getting underway and is paced pretty well throughout. There's not much in the way of make-up, but some of the zombie sequences are fairly creepy. The special effects are dismal, especially in the supposed underwater scenes, but only add to the charm of the overall film.
The pedestrian acting does become grating in places. Allison Hayes, who was amusingly over the top in the 1950's classic, "Attack of the 50ft Woman", stumbles through the movie as though she wasn't aware of where she was half of the time. She does wear a very tight sweater however.
The rest of the cast seems to be on auto-pilot, reading their lines but without any real sense of urgency or importance. (Again - something not unusual in these B-pictures from yesteryear).
All in all, "The Zombies of Mora Tau" is a fun and nostalgic film, perfect for late night viewing with the lights off with a bowl of popcorn on your lap. Worth a look for serious horror buffs as well, especially those who are interested in the history and development of the zombie genre.
5 out of 10.
The Ruins (2008)
A 1960's horror flick updated for a modern audience
About a quarter of the way into "The Ruins" I thought to myself, "take out the gore, the nudity and the swearing and you've got yourself one cool little 1960's monster movie".
Seriously.
While "The Ruins" will certainly not appeal to everyone (the crowd I saw an advanced screening with last night didn't seem to like it much), I think those with an appreciation of the genre, especially those weened on the classic horror flicks of yesteryear will find this an enjoyable, albeit disturbing and graphic, retread of stuff like "Day of the Triffids" and other similar killer plant movies.
It moves along at a brisk pace and the characters do things that normal people probably would (a rarity in horror films).
There are definitely moments of graphic violence that won't set well with parents or people who are squeamish by nature. And the effects are quite realistic as well. (That's either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view).
I'll leave out the plot details for those of you venturing out to see this on it's opening weekend, but to quote my fellow movie companions, "I'm not sure there really was a plot" to tell you about. The commercial for the film tells you basically everything.
There are a few great intense scenes and the film is well shot. The acting is believable as well.
So, not a bad movie, certainly not a great one, but if you approach this knowing what you're getting in to (an update of an old 1960's monster movie), you should fun for a couple of hours.
Expect this one to open well and quickly disappear. Coming to a Blockbuster store near you in the near future....