Reviews
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Something you must understand,
**SPOILER ALERT** *SPOILER ALERT*
You have to understand, and it's very hard unless you've lived through adolescence as a girl, is that the Lisbon girls wanted to have their life, but with the starched and press parents portrayed by Turner and Woods that would be impossible. Most kids learn by adolescence how to rebel, and although we don't know about their early youth, you can clearly see that all their lives they had no cause to really rebel so they didn't know how. The other part of that is looking at how harsh the Lisbon parents are. It's definitely not always an outright thing, but very clearly a mild, below the radar, yet tangible thing.
Now, I saw some comments and some people commented on how there isn't a good continuity in the actions of the characters, that is partially true. Along with the inability to rebel I think the Lisbon girls have wisdom, knowledge and skills of many things they should not normally have. Part of this might be because they are stifled so they have to branch out and observe different things, thereby gaining the knowledge or it just may be that they were silent rebels, smoking in the bathroom, getting people to do things for them, etc.
Now another thing I saw was people commenting on lack of feeling at points on the part of the character development/actors. Honestly I have to say that may be part of the whole under the radar abusiveness. The constant tension and mild anger exuded from the Lisbon parents is the kind of thing that makes people become numb to feeling and emotions, even the expression of them. Anyway that was my take, disagree or agree I could care less. Just watch the movie if you want to see a good film that will give you chills of a kind you didn't know existed.
Silent Number (1993)
Best movie Blanks has yet done...
Jamie Blanks is a wonderful director, especially for wonderfully twisted horror films. Blanks, if his critics can see beyond the horrid Teen-Slasher flicks he's done, has a magnificent career waiting for him. He has a wonderful eye for lighting and placement of actors within a shot. Blanks has great talent for making mediocre stories (Valentine, Urban Legend) infinitely more disturbing. Now I know you are wondering how I can call them disturbing, think of it like this, would Valentine have been as scary if the director of I Know What You Did Last Summer had shot it. Would Urban Legend have had the same eerie feel if anyone else had shot it. I do not believe so and that's my only point. If you are considering watching any type of short horror/sci-fi film watch this.
Onto the movie itself, this movie has a wonderfully dark aura that is awful hard to create within a short film. Not only is the dark lighting of the film a factor, but the fact that there are few, if any close ups, aside from maybe two or three quick close ups. I'll tell you one thing; this story will make you think. Blanks gives you several clues to follow but, thankfully, because of the short nature of the film nothing is really resolved and we are left trying to figure out how everything fits together.
The Lost World (1999)
very very good
The Lost World admittedly has diverted from the ORIGINAL book. Unlike other shows that are based on books and end up leaving the central story L.W. finds interesting and new stories to tell which I feel, after reading the original story, are true to Sir Arthur Conan Doles essence of story writing. The characters are developed nicely. Every episode reveals a slightly different part of each character. This was real evident in this past season (three I think), throughout the season we find out about Malone's past and some of Marguerite's and Roxton's and even something surprising about Challenger. The season finale reveals what really happened to Veronica's family and her true past and something surprising about the plateau.
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
I hate Disney
How come Disney has to ruin history? Pocahontas was a great person in real life. She became a little misguided by the English but none the less she was a great ambassador to the English. How was she rewarded for her decent actions? With a one way ticket to soul stifling, difference crushing,disease and filth ridden England by some Lord who wished to show off this prize of the New World, not the dashing John Smith (who in reality was a slob and a only met Pocahontas a few times and momentarily at that).
Our great heroine Pocahontas they don't tell you dies of a severe case of smallpox after being in Merry Old England for a year or so. Now I'm not saying don't watch Disney movies that aren't about animals because they're sugar coated, historically inaccurate pieces of junk. Just don't go in the movie and believe it's rose-tinted reality, let your kids know that Disney is merely perpetrating and sugar coating a series of Eurocentric lies and cheapening the memory of great stories and historical events. Next thing y'know there'll be a Disney movie about Vietnam. Don't let Disney ruin history or stories, and above all else DON'T BELIEVE the cartoons that based on events.
Black Scorpion (2001)
SUCKY!!!!!
OK normally I give scifi shows the benefit of the doubt concerning the outfits of the heroines. But c'mon a female superhero wearing a black boostea (?) and knee high hooker boots? That is ridiculous, I mean don't you think that heroine who wants to be tken seriously would wear something that is functional? Plus how the heck does she get the money for an advanced science lab on a detectives salary? And how the heck does an ex-con who stole cars know something about every type of science? This show didn't even deserve to be shown for six episodes. The show was a disgrace, how it passed FCC tests I don't know. All in all unless your a pubescent teenage boy you won't even find this show amusing. Even guys wouldn't wanna suffer through this show to watch her in action.
Strange World (1999)
interesting
This show is an interesting take on the classic sci-fi conspiracy tv show. the character of Paul Turner played by Tim Guinee is very well played. Because the show was/is written by the "X-files" gang it would have been very easy for Guinee to turn Turner into a Mulder-like character,(Mulder and Turner are written virtually the same) however Guinee saves his character and makes him much more realistic. Guinee turns his character into a man searching for a way to avoid being trapped between to organizations who are keeping the truth from him instead of into a raving maniac who sees little green men in the bushes.(sorry Mr.Duchovny) All in all this show is far better than I even dreamed it could've been, why it was cancelled to begin with is a mystery to me but now that it's back it's great. Oh and by the way it's on The Sci-Fi channel, you'll have to check your listings though.
Jason X (2001)
you thought you've seen it all
Spoilers O.K. I'm an admitted scifi horror geek but this was a killer slasher flick. Before I saw this movie I thought I had seen every ploy and story horror and scifi slashers could think of, but although it used old stories and ploys it is carried out in the most inventive ways. I mean have you ever seen a guy try to bargain his way out of death and then give the killer his weapon back. Plus this movie like all other slashers carries out gory and violent deaths but they are some of the most inventive I've ever seen( have you ever seen a guy trap two holograms in holo-sleeping bags and beat one with the other.). I've got to admit when you thought you've seen every slasher killer ploy you get surprised. Personally I feel that it is worth seeing just to see how each person is killed.