June 9, 2012

Al's Top 100 Least Favorite Movies Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

59:  Prom Night (2008)
Stop talking during the movie!
Could a slasher film be any more generic?  This remake looks really slick, but nothing about it really stands out.  The story is weak, and filled with characters that I just couldn’t care about (so why should I care if some creep stabs them all?).  The film overall feels so generic that it becomes a bore to watch.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film: Average | Resonance:  None
--------------------
58:  Miami Vice (2002)
What? A script?!
I wanted to enjoy this modern take on the old cop show.  But, jeez, this movie just dragged on and on and on! As long and dull as this material is, I couldn’t get into the story at all.  And while the film looks stylish, it was pretty gaudy at times too.  At this point, I don’t even remember that much about it.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Average | Resonance:   None
--------------------
57:  Brother’s Justice
This movie looked like it’d be a bad action flick at first glance.  Then I read the back cover and saw that it’s really a comedy about a guy pitching a bad movie idea to Hollywood.  As a comedy, it sounded promising.  And even though the basic concept is amusing (especially in the way the main character deludes himself), the film overall failed to induce laughter.

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  None
--------------------
56:  Street Fighter
Many people will probably file this film under “so bad it’s good.” In a way it is; the action is pretty frequent and thrilling, and there is plenty of hilariously bad dialogue to keep it funny.  However, it is a poorly-made film with an incredibly weak story.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
55:  Heart of America
Okay, who does Dr. Uwe Boll think he is to tell us what lurks in the Heart of America? This German dude’s attempt to peel away at the issue of school shootings is probably the most tasteless and pretentious act of butchery any director can do to a sensitive issue.  While the film is somewhat entertaining, the story is very contrived, and the film is extremely poorly-made.  As a result, we’re left with a bad drama that only claims to be the all-revealing mirror of human truth.  In reality, it’s garbage.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
54:  Lost in Translation
Yeah, I was this bored too, watching this movie...
I know I’m going to get flack for listing this; this film is pretty well-revered.  I don’t see why; there’s no story to this! It’s two hours of a guy and a chick wandering around Tokyo.  I understand that this is meant to be a film exploring transient souls devoid of meaning in their lives (hence the film’s title, and parallels to a foreign country), and a film that explores the dynamics of a short-term relationship.  Okay, so it’s a film with a subject and theme, but no running story or conflict, no scenes that really stand out and grab interest, and to me it has no lasting power.  It feels less like a film and more like an amateur video essay; something that a traveling student could have made.  As such, I found it completely uninteresting.

Entertainment:  Quite Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
53:  Supernova (2000)
With its special effects (which include a nice-looking binary black-hole system, and later a supernova that wipes out a whole planet), I wanted to like this film.  I just couldn’t.  It’s way too boring and uneventful.  The story doesn’t really make much sense, and is filled with characters I couldn’t care less about.  The film looks okay enough, but offers little redeeming value.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Quite Low
--------------------
52:  Dungeons and Dragons:  Wrath of the Dragon God
The first D&D movie ought to be worthy of this list, with its supreme amount of cheese and horrid special effects.  Surprisingly, they made a sequel, and it managed to suck even worse.  The story for this is made worse; the filming and special effects are still bad; worst of all, the movie only entertains to a point.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
51:  Star Runners
At first glance, this looked a little bit like Star Wars, so I was thrilled.  Then it turned out to be a hodgepodge that included a few cups of Starship Troopers, a tablespoon of Pitch Black, a dash of The Fifth Element, and perhaps a pinch of Ultraviolet. In spite of these ingredients, the story came out horridly underdone and lacking in any original flavor.  Did I mention that the film is made from cheap ingredients?

Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  None
--------------------
50:  Second in Command
In this film, we see the illustrious Jean-Claude Van Damme playing an officer who becomes "Second in Command" of this embassy where a bunch of terrorists are trying to bust in and take over the place.  Lots of shooting ensues.  Unfortunately, none if it is really that interesting, the film is not great, and it’s quite forgettable overall.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  None
--------------------
49:  L'avventura
This is as exciting as it gets...
Somebody once claimed that I haven’t seen enough “good” movies, and listed this one as an example of what “good” apparently means.  L'avventura is a “good” film, certainly; it has very pretty photography and locales, and there’s nothing wrong with its acting or writing.  Problem is, absolutely nothing, and I mean NOTHING happens in this film.  It’s two hours of rich snobs wandering around, trying to figure out what to do with themselves.  Then somebody goes missing, and in an act of perfect stupidity, the characters looking for this missing person falls in love and forgets about her.   I can understand that this is a story that emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of rich, disillusioned couples, having to forcibly search out adventure to break up the dull monotony of their lives.  And yet, they’ve also succeeded in making the film itself dull, monotonous, and lifeless.
Entertainment:  None | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Excellent | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
48:  Lawnmower Man 2
The first Lawnmower Man movie was a pretty weird trip, but man, tripping through this sequel is weirder yet! This movie can’t figure out if it’s catering to adults (since there is one bad curse word, and quite a lot of explosive action) or kids (because the tone overall is very light and fluffy, and a bunch of light-cycle-riding kids are featured in the film).  At times it entertains with its bad dialogue, its cheap special effects, and its poor craftsmanship.  But let’s face it, this story really sucks, and makes the first film look like The Godfather.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
47:  Caligula
This movie will make your eyes bleed too!
Everybody’s going to remember this film, because it’s loaded up with lots of perverse, hardcore sex and violence.  Going through this movie is like a benchmark to see just how much R-rated and X-rated material you can stomach.  It’s still the most graphic movie I’ve ever seen (although, not necessarily the bloodiest or the most disturbing).  But if you strip away all that perversity, there’s not much of a story left, and the film looks incredibly gaudy.  It’s a shame too, because the star power here is strong, and Malcolm McDowell makes a good Emperor Caligula.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Awful | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
46:  Recon 2020:  The Caprini Massacre
This came as a bonus feature to Battlespace, which was listed above.  This feature does have its action and a few amusing lines, but the story is pretty bland.  It looks like the filmmakers went to some construction yard and filmed a bunch of stuff; it’s all rather cheap.
They’ve made more Recon 2020 films since, but I’m not interested enough.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
45:  Galaxy of Terror
Insert hentai joke here.
One of many horrid B-movies that Roger Corman produced, but this one takes place in space! This film does boast some nifty special effects, and a memorable scene involving a woman and a scary space worm.  Regardless, the story isn’t very substantial, and the film is still very cheap in a lot of areas.

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Quite Low
--------------------
44:  Chaos (2005)
This is basically the exact same story as Last House on the Left, which in itself is a weird, gaudy, violent piece of work.  Chaos is quite a bit rougher with the style, and is also rougher with the violence (which is sickening at times, and ultimately most gratuitous).  It’s a dark and brutal film that holds up a thin veil of a message, trying to tell the audience that you really shouldn’t let your beloved teenagers run free on their own without telling anyone where they are.  It might have all been more effective if the film actually had a story, and wasn’t all that trashy and tasteless.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
43:  Titanic II
I always thought that a sequel for Titanic was meant to be a joke.  Because, you know, the ship sank! Well, leave it to the Sci-Fi channel (still refuse to call it “Sy-Fy”) to take the joke seriously and produce this low-budget affair.  It involves a modern ship called the Titanic which unsurprisingly undergoes a disaster.  Entertaining, more or less, but not particularly good or memorable.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
42:  Warbus II
The wheels on the bus go round and round...
I haven’t even seen Warbus I.  Ah well, this sequel does have a few entertaining war scenes, and once they bust out the actual warbus, it is quite novel.  Still, I really couldn’t feel much for the story or characters, and the film looks cheap.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
41:  The Omen IV:  The Awakening
Here, they attempted to generate the drama of the Antichrist’s birth from a little girl’s point of view.  The result isn’t particularly thrilling.  It didn’t make for a very good story.  It wasn’t even well-made at all.  And after all this time, I’ve forgotten most of it.  Stick with the original instead.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Quite Poor | Resonance:  None
--------------------
40:  The Specialist
Don’t remember much about this generic action picture either.  All I know is that Sharon Stone and Sylvester Stallone are in it, shooting people, stopping bombs from blowing up, and stuff.  It was a dull story and a dull film altogether.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  None
--------------------

June 8, 2012

Al's Top 100 Least Favorite Movies Part 2

Part 1

79:  The Toolbox Murders (2002)

Tobe Hooper directed this remake of the original 70’s slasher, and he did succeed in making it stylish.  Unfortunately, it still looks really cheap, and the story leaves much to be desired.  The characters are so poorly developed, I was actually rooting for the serial killer to pick them off.  For that matter, I would have been grateful if somebody broke into the house and killed the movie while it was in progress…

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
78:  Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Well, this movie certainly does have an aesthetic appeal.  It’s got plenty of cool-looking airships and dogfights and retro-futuristic stuff! For some odd reason, its execution didn’t appeal.  The film is cheesy, for better or for worse, and the frequent special effects looks pretty cheap.  Overall, the film just didn’t grab me the way I wanted it to, and thus it failed to resonate.  Maybe in Spielberg handled this material, it could have really been something…

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
77:  The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
This was also my expression while watching the movie...
Rob Zombie’s cartoon has its moments.  It is somewhat fun to geek out at all the horror movie references and parodies.  Unfortunately, despite a few good jokes, the film’s comedy is a huge hit-or-a-miss.  The story is so stupid and irreverent, the movie probably would have been better without one.  The animation is appealing, but the film overall feels every bit as trashy as Rob Zombie’s music (and in this case, mixing trashiness with animation just didn’t work).  Nope, I like Drawn Together instead.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Awful | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
76:  Scooby Doo
Get off!!!
Turning this classic animated character into a live-action film with (gaudy-looking) CGI graphics will undoubtedly appeal more to a younger demographic of viewers.  From this adult’s standpoint, the movie is pretty darn cheap and stupid.  It might be forgivable, if it wasn’t for a terrible last act that turns one of the classic characters into a monstrosity of a villain (literally).  Watching this film is an embarrassment.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
75:  S. Darko

Donnie Darko was an interesting, mystifying, addicting Rubik’s cube of a movie.  Then along came this mean sister of a film, which takes that Rubik’s cube and smashes it to the ground, so that all the little colored cubes are scattered all over the place with no real reason or meaning.  S. Darko does have some nice camera work and it is somewhat entertaining, but the plot is convoluted and all mixed to hell.  It’s best to stick with the big brother instead.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
74:  Ice Pirates
One of the film's more awkward moments...
This is a movie about a universe where all water is controlled by some evil empire.  Like no other place in all of mortal existence can produce H2O; what a stupid concept! Good news is, this is not a movie meant to be taken seriously; as a self-conscious comedy, spoofing off of space-aged science fiction fantasies, the movie does offer a few good laughs.  However, the story is as stupid as it gets, and the film looks pretty darn cheap.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Awful | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
73:  Storm Warriors
This film does have some cool-looking parts, as warriors use sorcery to manipulate winds and water to send swords flying all over the place.  Still, the story didn’t really stand out much, and the film looks pretty dreadful at times (especially with its overabundance of bad-looking special effects).  Compared to myriads of other Asian fantasy films, this one just gets lost in the flood.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Very Poor
--------------------
72:  Super Mario Bros
They took one of the most seminal video games of all time and turned it into a Blade Runner knock-off…with giant mutant reptiles…and old-school rap music.  This stupid story is made even more dumb with one too many stupid, cheesy moments and lines.  The movie overall looks weird and dreadful.  In the end, if it had any more cheese, the film reel would be a pizza pie!

Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
71:  Gunfighter (1999)
Not to be confused with the 1950 classic western of the same name (which I still haven’t seen), this is a cheap and silly western directed by Christopher Coppola.  Once I took a look at the actual film, I realized I mistook Chris with Francis (although, as you may see later, even Francis Ford Coppola has his bad films).  This film offers a nice narrative structure, but it’s still a dumb story hardly worth telling.  Above all, the film is so chap and bad-looking, it’s laughable.  It’s almost one of those “so bad it’s good” kind of movies.  Watch at your own peril!

Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
70:  In the Name of the King:  A Dungeon Siege Tale
Continuing in his streak of taking good video game franchises and destroying them, the good doctor Uwe Boll takes on Dungeon Siege franchise and uses it as his chance to try and rival something like The Lord of the Rings. The result? He made a film that’s so long, it gets boring.  Even the battle scenes are boring, offering little to no variation or peril to keep them interesting.  The film does have a few nice-looking moments, and the actors are earnest.  Still, going through this film can be like an endurance test.  Did I mention that this stupid movie has absolutely zilch to do with the original video game?!

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
69:  Dumb and Dumberer:  How Harry Met Lloyd
The evolution of dumb.  Yeah, that's the movie's actual tagline...
I got to hand it to the actors, they did a phenomenal job at matching up their performances with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in the original Dumb and Dumber. Unfortunately, the story, the comedy, the film itself, is all way too dumberer than it should be.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
68:  Zaat
This mutant product from Florida could be one of those movies that’s so bad it’s laughable.  But boy, it sure is bad! Showcasing the ambitions of a mad scientist who turns into a fish monster with a grand delusion to conquer the world, he goes about polluting everything with a single spray bottle of ooze, and terrorizes women for kicks.  Yep, it’s stupid, and the film itself looks incredibly cheap and fake.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Average
--------------------
67:  10.5 Apocalypse
Surf's up, dudes!!!
This film does manage to entertain well enough, with large amounts of mass destruction.  As usual with many disaster movies (especially from the Sci-Fi channel…and I still refuse to call it “Sy-Fy”), the story is pretty darn stupid, and the film is quite poor in quality.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
66:  Battlespace
This cheap little film has a good amount of ambition.  It does have a lot of interesting special effects; they’re really awful-looking, but they are still pretty interesting.  The story goes all over the place, but it does have its moments, and tries its best to be sci-fi of a thought-provoking sort.  Unfortunately, the story still leaves much to be desired, and the film overall looks very poor.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
65:  They Came From Beyond Space
Could this be the ghost of Sarek?
Oh yeah, this movie is every bit as bad as the title (what the heck is beyond space anyway? Who are "they?").  It involves a bunch of space rocks taking people over and making them to diabolical things.  The film plays out rather dryly, and the story could have had better execution if it wasn’t for the gaudy-looking production value.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor| Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
64:  Bridge to Hell
From what little I can remember of this incredibly dull and generic action flick, it entertained well enough.  There just wasn’t much of a story, and the film quality is bad.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
63:  The Werewolf of Washington
Candidate for the 2012 elections.  Yeah, the choices are getting worse all the time...
A dull experience overall, with a dull story, filmed in a dull fashion.  It’s certainly not memorable.  I don’t even remember what the werewolf in Washington looked like.  The only good thing about this will be in watching Dean Stockwell’s performance, but you can surely find better alternatives than this.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
62:  War, Inc
This film presents the idea that war could be packaged, sold, and controlled like a corporate product.  Unfortunately, this film does nothing to make the concept interesting on any level; the film fails to induce interest (or laughter, since this is a comedy of sorts) and craft any workable story.  The film looks decent enough; it’s a shame that it doesn’t really have anything fun or important to say.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
61:  Shrooms
A horror story revolving around mushroom eating.  Or so I assume.  You know, I forgot about most of this film, because it’s utterly forgettable.  It looks well-made and all, but doesn’t really have much of a story, and it’s not particularly engaging.  Horror film fans can probably dig it pretty well, but it didn’t do much for me.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Poor | Film:  Pretty Good | Resonance:  None
--------------------
60:  Alien From LA
The film's target audience.
Last time I checked, this was at the very bottom of imdb’s bottom 100 list.  It’s there for a good reason:  despite one or two amusing moments, the film is not all that funny or fun.  The story’s pretty dumb.  The film has a fairly cheap production design.  In the end, it’s not all that memorable either.

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
To be continued...

June 7, 2012

Al's Top 100 Least Favorite Movies Part 1

As much of a cinema nerd as I am, I’ve always toyed and tinkered around with trying to create a solid top 100 list of best and favorite movies.  It’s never been truly definitive, because tastes change in time; I tend to love certain movies one moment, only to discover later that they had weaknesses or no real lasting power.

Thus, I decided to recalculate things.  Instead of focusing just on movie ratings and my gut instinct, I analyzed each film’s entertainment value, storytelling prowess, craftsmanship, and perhaps most importantly, whether or not a film truly resonates with me.  The results have been surprising, but I got to admit, it makes for a list that I can truly call definitive.

Before I divulge into talking about my faves, I’ve also taken the liberty of looking at the bottom of the list, to create a top 100 list of least favorite movies.  These are movies that barely entertain (those that achieve a good entertainment score are often entertaining for all the wrong reasons), have terrible stories, and show poor craftsmanship.  It’s pretty darn incredible to think that I’ve managed to sit through all of these, and it’s a little disconcerting that I actually own some of these.  A few are highly-regarded, but I’ve never been one to allow acclaim and prestige to skew my opinions; whether it’s a polished arthouse work, a multi-million-dollar blockbuster, or something made in a dude’s back yard...if it rubbed me the wrong way, it made the list.  Chances are good that my opinion could be totally changed on some of these, but at the time of this writing, this list is definitive (and most of these films are really bad).

So, without further ado, here it is…Al’s Top 100 Worst Movies:

100:  Inland Empire
Three letters define this film...WTF?!!
This movie makes it at the very brink of the list because it is easily the weirdest film I’ve ever seen.  And yes, it is weirder than Eraserhead. In fact, both films are made by the same director:  David Lynch.  Eraserhead is a so weird and memorable of a trip that it manages to come off as a work of brilliance in its own twisted way; Inland Empire is more like an epic convoluted mess.  It runs for three hours, and is loaded up with scenes that make very little sense (including numerous scenes in which a family of bunny rabbits sit in a living room).  Those who are artistically inclined will likely draw solid interpretations and theories from the film, and may even declare it a masterpiece in its own right.  As for myself, I’m left wondering “what the Hell was that?!”

Entertainment:  Marginal | Story:  Poor | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
99:  Eat, Pray, Love
Naturally, romance movies aren’t my forte.  Most fall in the vast gray area in between being “good” and “bad.” But this one makes the list because I have an exceptional abhorrence towards it.  For the most part, I feel that the main character is a flake; she goes through the motions of finding enlightenment of sorts, but her international journey comes off as a contrived and shallow effort.  Without learning or understanding anything, it’s just a movie about a dippy woman who travels, eats a lot, talks to people, finds a cool dude, falls in love, and that’s it.  Come to think of it, that’s much of a story, is it? The best that can be said is that the film looks pretty.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Good | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
98:  Jaws:  The Revenge
Stalk much?
Look out! The shark will follow you across the world and eat you! Jaws 3-D was pushing things as it was; it entertained, but it also had some fairly dumb moments.  This fourth installment is just all-around asinine, as it is dull and unmemorable.  I recommend the first two movies instead.

Funnily enough, this is not the only movie on the list involving sharks…

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Average | Film:  Average | Resonance:  None
--------------------
97:  Behind Enemy Lines
Run away from the film! RUN!!!
This was a fairly promising, action-packed war flick of sorts.  It has a very simple, easily-digestible premise, loaded up with frequent action scenes and a gripping struggle for survival.  In professional hands (maybe from somebody like Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, etc), it could have really been something epic.  As it is, the film is a stylistic mess.  It seems that more than half of it is filmed with the erratic hand-held shakey-cam effect…but then the film speeds it up, slows it down, and pauses for some frames, serving to turn an already unbearable filming style into brutal torture.  And without any substance in the story to redeem it, the film comes off as a gaudy and indistinct.  While I’m sure this film has a following, I find it way too agitating to watch.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Quite Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
96:  Halloween:  Resurrection
I’ve never been wholly fond of the Halloween movies to start with; I find the first one rather dull, and actually prefer the second, third, and fourth ones instead.  Number five was somewhat entertaining; I don’t care for number six; H20 looks slick, but I don’t care for it that much.  So, Halloween:  Resurrection is the eighth in the series; it pits Michael Meyers against a group of kids with cameras.  That means the film itself is shot from the point-of-view from those cameras, giving the film that same shakey and erratic hand-held charm that went into the Blair Witch Project.  The story for this is extremely thin, and the characters tend to be quite stupid.  Thus, the film proves to be only marginally entertaining (and certainly not scary).

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
95:  Dragonball:  Evolution
Hollywood’s attempt to bring the popular anime series to the big screen resulted in a film that’s all style and no substance…as usual.  I still haven’t seen the original DBZ, but I keep hearing good things about it, and this movie makes a butchery out of it.  The story? It has something to do with a kid getting all superpowered and stopping a green bad guy from doing evil stuff.  The film? Rather cheap and cheesy. Does it entertain? Somewhat, but interested parties can probably do better with the original Japanese cartoon.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
94:  Rebirth of Mothra II
The first Rebirth of Mothra film is so stupid, so cheap, so awful in its execution, it makes me laugh for the whole two hours, turning it into one of the most unintentionally funny films of all time.  I think that’s the only reason why it didn’t make this list, but its sequel did.  This sequel sets out to be a little more earnest, but winds up being less entertaining or memorable that way.  At this point, all I remember about it is the big, fluffy, fake-looking moth, and a bunch of people running around some pyramids or something.  Chances are that kids might dig this material, but I seriously don’t recommend either Rebirth of Mothra films.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
93:  Twin Daggers
A moderately entertaining martial arts action flick, but of a rather poor quality.  I don’t really remember the story for this, but I do remember that the fight scenes, and most setpieces, are quite cheap and cheesy.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Low

92:  Hologram Man
This could be the most entertaining film on this list; it’s loaded up with lots of shootouts and fights and stuff! However, this film is as cheap as they come, especially in regards to its special effects.  The story for this is quite absurd.  Like a hologram, it’s fun, but lacking in solid substance.

Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
91:  Scary Movie 2
The bird's cute...until it starts defecating on the walls for no reason...
The first Scary Movie movie pushed my limit for what’s tasteful and “funny.” This follow-up offers much more of the same, including a lot more sick, gross, and vulgar comedy.  It disgusted me ten years ago; if I revisit it today, I predict that it still won’t make me laugh that much, even if I could stomach the crudeness.  The film has nothing much beneath the surface either; the story is as weak as it could possibly be (despite the comedic possibility of lampooning haunted house stories), and the film shows minimal craftsmanship.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Marginal | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
90:  Creepshow 3
Your face after watching this movie.
This series just isn’t much without George A Romero and Stephen King behind the wheel.  This comes off as a Creepshow wannabe; its spirit is misdirected, the stories are all wrong, and the film itself seems amateurish.  It is mildly interesting at times, but hardly enough to call it worth the time.  It’s much better to stick with the first two movies.  Want more? There are always films like Tales from the Dark Side, Cat’s Eye, Trick R Treat, and Chillerama to quench your thirst for horror story anthologies.  By all means, stay away from this monstrosity!

Entertainment:  Average | Stories:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
89:  Jade Warrior
Interestingly, this is a Finnish film about Chinese warriors and stuff.  The film does have its nice, visual moments, and the story tries its best to create a good narrative structure.  Unfortunately, the movie fails to really capture interest, especially since there are myriads of better epics out there.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
88:  Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
This original caper has all the star power and tries its best to be snazzy.  Back in the day, it probably was.  These days, it’s fallen in the shadow of Stephen Soderbergh’s hip and stylish remake, which blows all this out of the water.  Even on its own merits, the original Ocean’s 11 is not really all that thrilling, and I couldn’t care less about its story or craftsmanship.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Average | Film:  Average | Very Low
--------------------
87:  Manchurian Candidate (2004)
I believe in Harvey Dent.  ...oops, wrong movie...
The original Manchurian Candidate had enough substance to go with its style; in fact, the substance is pretty hard-hitting, if you stop to consider the possibilities.  Adapting this same story for the modern age just doesn’t work all that well; the basic concept of brainwashing a political candidate could certainly be possible at any era, but the story in this remake comes off as way too convoluted, trying too hard to mix up the old with the new.  Even with quality actors putting on quality performances, none of the characters really stood out.  The film offers some really trippy effects, but overall it’s still not as effective as the original.  In all fields, the original film dominates.

Entertainment:  Poor | Story:  Average | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
86:  The Doomsday Machine
Spacemen travel in style!
A fairly entertaining sci-fi flick, about a group of astronauts sent into space as the world explodes.  So naturally, it’s up to them to settle somewhere and repopulate the species.  It’s a fairly interesting plot, marred by one too many stupid moments, and further inhibited by an extremely weak production value.  The redeeming value is, among all B-movies, this one does entertain.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Marginal | Film:  Awful | Resonance:  Marginal
--------------------
85:  Cloverfield
The one and only cool scene in the movie.
This production had a promising concept.  The idea of presenting this monster invasion story all from the perspective of a dude’s camera (taping over some footage of an old girlfriend) does offer solid narrative and stylistic opportunities.  Unfortunately, with the first half-hour spent at a stupid party filled with stupid immature kids, I was left hating all of them and wishing the monster would devour them all.  When the awesome action scenes do finally appear, it’s way too hard to see what’s going on, thanks to the herky-jerky camera movements.   I think I’ll stick with Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla, thank you very much…

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Average | Film:  Very Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
84:  The People That Time Forgot
The one and only cool place in the movie.
This follow-up to The Land That Time Forgot presents a mildly interesting adventure that pits explorers against natives, with lots of crazy erupting volcanoes and stuff.  It entertains okay, but doesn’t really have an engaging story, and part of the film look pretty darn cheap and gaudy.  At this point, I’m ready to forget about this film, just like time did.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
83:  Three Kingdoms:  Resurrection of the Dragon
You know, after seeing so many historical epics coming out of Asia, they all start to run together.  I don’t even remember what’s so great about this movie, much less what could set it apart from Mulan, Red Cliff, War of the Arrows, Warlords, that Genghis Kahn movie, or God knows what else.  Mildly entertaining, but utterly forgettable.

Entertainment:  Average | Story:  Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
82:  Kull the Conqueror
That’s right, Kevin Sorbo, the dude who once played Hercules, starred in his very own fantasy epic.  He tried his best to best the machismo of Conan the Barbarian, but he resulted in making a movie out of nothing but cheese.  I can’t say I remember the plot, and I certainly couldn’t tell you if it really matters or not.  That’s just how memorable this schlock is.

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Poor | Film:  Average| Resonance:  None
--------------------
81:  Scary Movie 4
You know, I actually found this one (along with #3) way funnier than the first two Scary Movie movies.  That doesn’t mean it’s really that great.  This storyline pretty much rehashes the exact same formula of Scary Movie 3, and just swaps out the movies and pop culture references that the movie parodied.  The result:  a movie that looks and acts the part, but is dumber than dirt.

Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Awful | Film:  Average | Resonance:  Very Low
--------------------
80:  Superman IV:  The Quest for Peace
Watching this movie makes me scream and shoot lightning from my hands, just like this!
Wow, I didn’t think it could get worse than Superman III, but somehow it did.  I’ll hand it to the film that it does achieve some level of coolness with Nuclear Man, and his epic pursuit of the Man of Steel.  The story is noble, as it tries to emphasize nuclear disarmament, but it also comes off as pushy (and perhaps a little naive, for us right-wing folks).  Thanks to a barrage of budget cuts and cutting corners, the film suffers tremendously, and it really is the worst Superman movie to date (hopefully, it’ll stay that way; I got high hopes for Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot).

Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Very Poor | Film:  Poor | Resonance:  Low
--------------------
To be continued...

Fire from the Gods

Prometheus

Expectations for Ridley Scott’s return to the universe he established in Alien have been high, to say the least.  So bloody high that the film falls short for lots of people.  While I suspect that most viewers went into this movie expecting a deep, mind-blowing cinematic masterpiece, I went in wanting nothing more than a solid piece of science fiction.  I didn’t want my mind blown, I didn’t expect the film’s quality to surpass Alien at all, and I didn’t even expect the film to move all that fast.

In spite of that, the film met my expectations.  The film is gorgeous throughout, sporting impressive visual effects and camerawork.  Its far better paced than I expected; I find Prometheus way more eventful than Alien (even though the two films were originally meant to be separate and distinct, it’s too hard not to compare the two).  There are some gnarly, disgusting, and agonizing scenes of creature horror.  There’s even a nice bit of action and peril towards the end.  With a sense of mystery in the first half and a ton of crazy horror in the last act, the film is pretty darn thrilling.  If there’s any drag, it’d be in the middle, after the initial discoveries, and before all heck breaks lose.

The story for this has some interesting ambition (although its achievement will be questionable by some).  The nature of the story prompts frequent theological discussion, but it never really states anything conclusive.  The plot for this mirrors Alien quite a bit, hitting up a lot of the same plot points.  What makes Prometheus more engaging is that it’s not just a straightforward man-vs-alien struggle; it’s fueled by curiosity and the need to solve the universe’s deepest mysteries.  The film manages to bring up a lot of strange, interesting, and mysterious things as it goes on, and never fully answers everything.  This will leave many to claim that the film is shallow, pretentious, or just plain stupid.  Others may be confused and frustrated.  Personally, I found myself wishing for more answers, but ultimately arrived to my own conclusions (I’m not even sure if a sequel is really warranted, but if it brings more answers, then I think we’d all welcome it).  As far as Prometheus being an Alien prequel:  the connections between the two films were very slight, up until the very last shot, which was likely tacked-on to please the fans and provide more sequel bait.  And as far as characters go, they met my expectations.  It’s not like Alien had really grand depth in their characters, so Prometheus pretty much provides more of the same. 

The film is quite slick.  I loved the photography and imagery.  Acting is swell; I thought Michael Fassbender was perfect; I generally enjoyed Noomi Rapace’s performance; Charlize Theron’s character was not particularly likable, but was still interesting; everybody else fulfilled their roles just fine and dandy.  Writing seems to be the culprit of the film’s issues; the dialogue is not very sophisticated (even though it is lively and amusing enough), and the plot overall could have used some refinement.  This production does have wonderful-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects.  It is especially interesting to see a lot more influences by HR Giger (including one of his rejected designs for Dune).  Music is pretty elegant at times.

Alien was released thirty-three years ago with mixed reviews, but is now regarded as a masterpiece.  Blade Runner received a mixed reception on its release thirty years ago.  Now Prometheus is out…with mixed reviews.  Time will tell whether or not Ridley Scott’s latest film will be revered in the same light as his older works.  As it is now, I can only recommend it as a rental when the disc comes out.

4.5/5 (entertainment:  4.5/5, story:  4/5, film:  4.5/5)

June 3, 2012

A Day in Northumbria

The weekend before last, we were gifted with some beautiful and unnaturally hot weather (and to think, I once complained that it was unnaturally cold for a while).  While the sun prevailed, I decided to take a day off and take a ride to Northumbria.  There are many fantastic sights and castles to be seen in this English district; running along the coast north of Newcastle, we were able to visit Warkworth Castle and Dunstanburgh Castle.

Warkworth is a castle I remember well, for I had visited it several years earlier.  Despite the ruined state of the bailey, its walls are still tall and impressive.  Its gatehouse is especially noteworthy, for it has multiple gates that, in the medieval times, would have trapped unwanted guests; archers behind the walls would have turned the gatehouse into a merciless kill zone.  Beyond the gates, there are some ruined towers, and one impressively-intact keep.  From the keep, it is possible to see the nearby town of Amble, the ocean beyond, and a lighthouse in the distance.
Warkworth Castle
Dunstanburgh Castle required a substantial walk from the small coastal town of Craster; it took at least thirty minutes to cross the wide-open fields between the town and the castle.  Even from a distance, the castle is a unique sight, with its ruined round tower and its long wall stretching toward the sea.  A number of sheep and cows were grazing all around.  At the castle, I didn't have time to walk around its grounds (I needed another thirty minutes to walk back to town; if I lingered around the castle any longer, I feared the gates would have closed).  As it is, I saw a big tower on the other end of the castle grounds.
Dunstanburgh Castle
In between the two castles, we stumbled upon a beach near Warkworth that was hardly occupied.  On any other English day, it probably would have been cold and dreary; on this day, it was a magnificent pleasure to feel the hot sand and cool ocean water at our feet.  I realized that it had been years since I've visited a proper beach; even though I didn't come prepared for a swim, it was still refreshing and inspirational to walk along the shoreline.
Warkworth beach, with a heavy mist from the ocean spray.
In spite of all these activities, we never did find the time to explore Holy Island, Bamburgh, or Lindisfarne, which would have been our next destinations.  There just wasn't enough time in the day to visit them all; on the plus side, this leaves more for us to do on a future excursion.

May 23, 2012

Cold Spring, Hot Summer

Here in England, it seems as though we've had nothing but cold, dark, rainy weather for the entire spring time.  There were a few nice days in March, but the rest has been nothing but coldness.  I don't think I've ever seen the cold last this long; it was getting rather disconcerting.

Fortunately, the last few days have cleared up perfectly, and we've been blessed with perfect summer weather.  It's so perfect, it's almost become unnaturally hot for England.  It's ultimately weird how his spring has embodied both the extreme cold and the extreme heat in such a short time frame.

The sheep are watching...
Having endured so many cold days, I was compelled to drive around and explore someplace new.  One lunch break, I took a walk around Fewston reservoir, which was nice in itself.  After work, I went to Grimwith reservoir and went for a loner hike.  Sure, it's not quite as thrilling as visiting a place like London or Leeds or a major historic site; the problem is, such places tend to be crowded, busy, and stressful.  In both cases, the scenery was gorgeous.  Both areas were exquisitely quiet and tranquil.  Not only do places like these produce nice photos, but they are relaxing.  It feels very down-to-Earth to be among natural beauty.  Even if the good weather doesn't prevail, I was more than happy to have visited these places.

Grimwith Reservoir.
As far as writing goes, it's been going, believe it or not.  My five-year endeavor on Angel-Craft might finally be coming to an end, but there is still much work to do.  If there's time, I'll keep on working on my short stories as well, and hopefully post another one here soon.

Creepy sheep skull on the sign for Grimwith Reservoir.