Members
Stats
Users Online Users: 0Guests: 56Total: 56 |
|
November 18, 2019, 07:22:57 AM  | Night of the Comet: Collector's Edition (1984/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer |
|
Stars:
Robert Beltran as Hector
Catherine Mary Stewart as Regina
Kelli Maroney as Samantha
Sharon Farrell as Doris
Mary Woronov as Audrey
Geoffrey Lewis as Carter
Plot:
It's the first comet to buzz the planet in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone, that is, except Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart, The Last Starfighter) and her younger sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney, Chopping Mall), two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than the celestial phenomenon. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they're the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn't vaporized or turned into a zombie, they do what all good Valley Girls do...they go shopping! But when their day of malling threatens to become a day of mauling, these gals flee with killer zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit!
Extras:
- Scene Access
- Audio Commentary
- Feature Trailers
- Featurettes
- Gallery
- Interviews
My Thoughts:
Sure this is a cheesy '80s flick..but it is one that I just find plain fun... nothing more then that. Just "leave your brain at the door" fun. It has a nice mixture of comedy that works well in my opinion. It is like a zombie flick with minimal use of zombies. I am so glad I upgraded this one to Blu-ray as the DVD release I had didn't have any extras. My Rating:
(From Within My Lifetime Marathon on January 8th, 2015)
Member's Reviews
An American Werewolf in London, a review by Jon
An American Werewolf in London
5 out of 5
Jack and David, two American backpackers get lost on the English moors, despite dire warnings. They are attacked by a werewolf and Jack is killed, but David is rescued by the locals feeling guilty for not helping them earlier. Weeks later David awakes in hospital, but a full moon is due...
An American Werewolf in London is rightly a horror classic, but an oddity all the same. Directed with gusto by John Landis, some accuse it of not knowing what it wants to be. It's genuinely funny and genuinely scary, sometimes at the same time, which means despite its confidence, it can't be a genuine comedy or a genuine horror. Empire commented that the final scene is powerful, but immediately undermined by the rock 'n' roll version of Blue Moon over the credits (it opens with the original ballad, so maybe it should have been the other way around). They're right, but I find that part of the fun!
First time viewers may indeed struggle with the ever-changing tone, but it rewards repeat viewings and first-timers well versed in horror mythology, because this movie works best as a love letter to horror. As such Landis takes nothing seriously, plays the whole thing with a tongue wedged firmly into his cheek, yet gives us well rounded memorable characters who are treated with respect and affection, even if what they do is absurd. And it never dips into sentimentality. A frightened David phones home at one point and it could easily have been mawkish, but it's actually very funny and -there's that word again- genuine.
So we end up with situations like bumbling coppers in a rather quaint view of London, or The Slaughtered Lamb pub, populated with a typical Hammer style group of superstitious locals. The fact is, we British don't give pubs names like that and the moors aren't populated by such folk keeping terrible, murderous secrets and Satanic symbols on the walls. Well I bloody hope not anyway! As the inquisitive doctor who helps David says, "we'd have seen it on the telly".
It's all part of the in-joke and works so well because Landis is having as much fun as us, channelling his inner child who probably sat up late watching horror movies when he was a kid. As such it sits in a sadly little-used sub-genre along with Joe Dante's werewolf flick The Howling or Gremlins. It's little-used because the entries have to be bloody good and there aren't many directors who can pull it off. I'd also include the marvellous Shaun of the Dead, but even that is more of a full-time comedy with the gory scenes being as funny as anything else and an awkward serious scene near the end.
Here the gore is often part of the absurd comedy, with visits from Jack's corpse being freakishly fun highlights. But when it wants to be scary, it pulls no punches. The early sequence on the moors, the random attacks in London. Though not so much the final rampage! It's great, but it's Landis cutting loose, not trying to scare us. So lots of blood, bouncing heads, car crashes. Wonderful stuff! He did the scary stuff earlier to most effect on the Underground. London's tube system can be lonely and full of echoes anyway, without a sodding werewolf wandering around. Of course in keeping with the tone, the victims confront the human David when he meets Jack in a porn cinema with hilarious results.
It's all held together with the central performances of David and his nurse, Alex (Jenny Agutter) who run straight and true throughout. And if you need someone to hold your hand while having bad dreams, Jenny is perfect. That's right, you get horror, comedy and even a genuine (sorry) romance too. Am I twisted for finding the innocent scene of her spoon-feeding and chastising him very sexual? Probably. Don't care.
Those dreams are another opportunity for classic sequences of random horror, letting the make-up guys have fun. When they play serious though you get the famous changing sequence. Still the best, still beats CGi. This and The Thing will stand the test of time because of that hard work and dedication.
(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 18th, 2008)
Member's TV Reviews
Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom
 | Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia
|
Stars:
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve as Superman Clark Kent
Marlon Brando as Jor-El
Ned Beatty as Otis
Jackie Cooper as Perry White
Plot:
You haven't seen all the Superman films until you've seen this! Superman II starring Christopher Reeve returns with a never-before-seen beginning and resolution. Director Richard Donner began shooting his vision of Superman II while concurrently filming Superman The Movie. For the first time, his unique vision is here. Jor-El (Marlon Brando in recently found footage) appears in key new scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the relationship between father and son. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) plots more schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman. With so many changes, large and small, this version is an eye-opening alternate experience.
Awards:
Won:
| Saturn (1981) | Best Science Fiction Film |
| AFI (1980) | 100 Years... 100 Passions (2002) | |
| AFI (1980) | 100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001) | |
| Saturn (1981) | Best Actor (Christopher Reeve) | |
| Saturn (1981) | Best Actress (Margot Kidder) | |
| Saturn (1981) | Best Music (Ken Thorne) |
Extras:
- Commentary
- Deleted Scenes
- Featurettes
- Introduction by Richard Donner
- Scene Access
- Superman Cartoons
My Thoughts:
This cut improves on an already great movie. Especially the scenes with Marlon Brando, which were excised from the theatrical cut, bring much more sense to the movie. They explain better why Superman had to give up his powers to be with Lois, and how he got his powers back. Also all the slapstick is gone now.The first time I saw it, I was surprised how many scenes Marlon Brando had shot for this movie. I also am surprised how many Lex Luthor moments had been cut from the Lester version (all scenes with Gene Hackman were shot under Donner, therefore no new scenes were available for Lester).
Rating:
(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 15th, 2011)