I just watched Razortooth on the Netflix for iPad app. Its is worth watching as a study for screenwriters or moviemakers. Its b-movie creature feature about giant eels that start eating people in the Florida Everglades. There are mountains in the background, thats doesnt bother me. Looks like the swamp shots are Bayou stock footage. The actors are a little old for this kinda thing. But the screenwriter / filmmaker had alot to say. Forced dialog. Over the top camp and cheese, cliche, redundancy.
As a screenwriter these movies are lessons, in what not to do. Im not saying the filmmakers of Razortooth failed at everything cause alot of it worked. They swung for the fence. I got a kick out of the movie, but alot of comments on IMDB are "worst movie ever" You watch a movie like this and it shows you how close or far away the script was in terms of working. Is it over written? Over acted? Both?
The characters are absurd and thats the point, and with that goal in mind I think the screenwriter did a pretty good job carving out characters. Watch it on Netflix Instant or whatever and learn something about filmmaking.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
Nightmare On Elm Street 2010
I remember seeing the original Nightmare On Elm Street like it was yesterday, even though it was more than 20 years ago. At that time Nightmare On Elmstreet was one of the most horrifying experiences I had ever had, it ranks up there with Jaws and the Shining. Me and my friends were so energized by seeing Freddy Kruger that we climbed a tree and got on top of the roof of the Multiplex in hopes of scaring the living shit out of the kids leaving the theater. It worked, the cops came and we all got into a lot of trouble.
Fast forward to 2009 or whatever it was when I first heard that Brad Fuller and Platinum Dunes was re-imaging the Wes Craven masterpiece that literally put New Line Cinema on the block. I let out a predictable sigh but as I have come to accept the remakes as here to stay. The remakes are gonna happen, might as well embrace them and try to enjoy them. The alternative is not seeing them and thats just not gonna happen. I was interested when Jackie Earl Haley signed on to play the iconic roll of Freddy Kruger being that I had been a huge fan of Kelly Leak in the original Bad News Bears.
So what did I think about Nightmare on Elm St 2010? I thought the movie was OK. Not hating on it for being a remake of one of my all time most favorite film, I went in to the theater with an open mind looking forward to being entertained. The movie opens with the atmosphere I had hoped to find. The young actor struck me as rather Twilight looking, and yes I know one of the actors is also one of the stars of the Twilight series. But it wasn't just him, they all seemed to have Twilight eyebrows and seemed forever stuck in the navel gazing brooding position. Maybe thats a stylistic decision based on blockbluster mentality and maybe I'm dreaming it.
Overall I thought the movie was lacking in a few elements. Mostly, the score. The original NoES score is one of the all time great horror scores. The new one plays on the motifs and riffs but it falls far short of being rememberable. The sound design also was weak as it used timing as a crutch to emphasize the scary moments, The original provided truly scary moments that were accented with sound design. Freddy moments are predictable therefore because of the score and the sound design. I think those are two of the biggest problems facing the new film and those two elements are an obstacle to creating a similiar experience of horror that was so unique in the original film.
Everything else was just fine by me, other than the Freddy makeup that left burned Freddy alot less expressive than the original makeup worn by Robert Englund. I feel this FX decision essentially tied one of Jakie Earl Haley hands behind his back in terms of his ability to use his face as a tool for cinematic theatrical expression.
This is my broad brush impression of the new Nightmare On Elm St. I;ll be seeing it again this week and I will review the film on a smaller scale but I don't see myself shredding the movie. Its a fun watch. Even if it doesn't contain the dozen or so set pieces and memorable moments of the original, its a decent popcorn movie. If you are a horror hound its worth seeing, and I'm gonna see it again. Don't sleep.
Fast forward to 2009 or whatever it was when I first heard that Brad Fuller and Platinum Dunes was re-imaging the Wes Craven masterpiece that literally put New Line Cinema on the block. I let out a predictable sigh but as I have come to accept the remakes as here to stay. The remakes are gonna happen, might as well embrace them and try to enjoy them. The alternative is not seeing them and thats just not gonna happen. I was interested when Jackie Earl Haley signed on to play the iconic roll of Freddy Kruger being that I had been a huge fan of Kelly Leak in the original Bad News Bears.
So what did I think about Nightmare on Elm St 2010? I thought the movie was OK. Not hating on it for being a remake of one of my all time most favorite film, I went in to the theater with an open mind looking forward to being entertained. The movie opens with the atmosphere I had hoped to find. The young actor struck me as rather Twilight looking, and yes I know one of the actors is also one of the stars of the Twilight series. But it wasn't just him, they all seemed to have Twilight eyebrows and seemed forever stuck in the navel gazing brooding position. Maybe thats a stylistic decision based on blockbluster mentality and maybe I'm dreaming it.
Overall I thought the movie was lacking in a few elements. Mostly, the score. The original NoES score is one of the all time great horror scores. The new one plays on the motifs and riffs but it falls far short of being rememberable. The sound design also was weak as it used timing as a crutch to emphasize the scary moments, The original provided truly scary moments that were accented with sound design. Freddy moments are predictable therefore because of the score and the sound design. I think those are two of the biggest problems facing the new film and those two elements are an obstacle to creating a similiar experience of horror that was so unique in the original film.
Everything else was just fine by me, other than the Freddy makeup that left burned Freddy alot less expressive than the original makeup worn by Robert Englund. I feel this FX decision essentially tied one of Jakie Earl Haley hands behind his back in terms of his ability to use his face as a tool for cinematic theatrical expression.
This is my broad brush impression of the new Nightmare On Elm St. I;ll be seeing it again this week and I will review the film on a smaller scale but I don't see myself shredding the movie. Its a fun watch. Even if it doesn't contain the dozen or so set pieces and memorable moments of the original, its a decent popcorn movie. If you are a horror hound its worth seeing, and I'm gonna see it again. Don't sleep.
Monday, September 03, 2007
HALLOWEEN (Review)
After the first 20 or 30 minutes of Rob Zombie's new Halloween movie, I was sure little Michael Meyers was gonna grab a mic, and a baby blue sweat suit and start busting rhymes, but Haddonfield aint Detroit. Instead of picking up a pen and writing clever stanzas like the pissed off white trash kids of the late 90's, Meyers makes masks, and then he does what psycho kids do today in 2007. He killed his family.
Rob Zombie captured the summer of 2007 better than any other filmmaker. Two of the biggest horror stories of 2007 were The Virginia Tech Massacre and Michael Vick's Dog Hostel. Zombie's retelling, places a young Michael Meyers inside Jerry Springer world. His mother is a whore. Sister is a whore, and fake father is a crippled pedophile. This kid doesnt have a chance, he's killing hamsters, and whatever else he can get his hands on. And he loves wearing and making new masks.
The two Virginia Tech scumbags wore masks too. One was a mute that hid behind computer aliases, he had no friends, was getting no pussy, so he made a video and killed 30 something people. The other Hokie, Mike Vick wore a different kind of mask, a football helmet, and when he wore it he was the most loved individual in the history of the school. At night he liked to go Eli Roth on his pets.
Some of you are confused and wondering what the hell any of this has to do with Halloween. Its got alot to do with it. I wouldnt be surprised at all to turn on CNN or Fox News and see Zombie's Michael Meyers neighbor exclusive with Greta Von Braun. Zombie takes a trouble kid, and follows his journey through hell, and shows ultimately what can happen to a kid that shows serious signs of being really fucked up, when the adults around him do nothing but hope things will get better.
Pathetic health care only makes Meyers worse, and when the system totally fails him, it can no longer contain him. Zombie fails visually here going for the WWE stylized comic book character version of a Slasher. It doesnt work. We dont need a Slasher that looks like WWE, especially after seeing him as a monster with Cherub like features swinging a log at another kids head. Zombie tried too hard stylistically when he was a musician, and he still tries too hard as a director. The recurring cast members only further remove the viewer from believability. But these are small gripes for a B-movie. And thats what Halloween is, its a B-movie. And if there was a B-movie rating system, Halloween would be a 4 star movie. The cinematography is distracting and amaturish, but the nostalgic big hit song selections ballance the compositions in a unique home made movie kind of way. And even though it is over stylized and over edited, it tells the story of todays troubled youth. The sick and violent boy that is screaming out for help, by wearing masks, and no one can see or hear the calls for help.
Parents of weird kids should see Halloween. Troubled kids put on masks. They fool adults. And of course not every kid ends up being an unstoppable Hall of Fame Slasher like Michael Meyers, but even the troubled kids that will never pick up a weapon and kill half their town, or buy a mansion in the middle of nowhere to torture dogs, are still living in tremndous pain. Recognize the symptoms. Its easy to tell that a young Jason Voorhees is fucked up, he's a tard with a bent head, uneven eyes, and he's a very poor swimmer, Michael Meyers on the other hand looks like half the kids I see Skateboarding on the steps at the bank. Carpenter's Michael Meyers was never quite as right next door. Its a different movie. We are living in a much different time. At the end of the Summer, Jason and Michael still aren't behind bars, they are at your local box office. Talking about how fucked up everything was before things got totally fucked up. Im talking about Jason Bourne and Michael Meyers. Two fucked up kids, that you just cant kill. What are we gonna do with em.
Rob Zombie captured the summer of 2007 better than any other filmmaker. Two of the biggest horror stories of 2007 were The Virginia Tech Massacre and Michael Vick's Dog Hostel. Zombie's retelling, places a young Michael Meyers inside Jerry Springer world. His mother is a whore. Sister is a whore, and fake father is a crippled pedophile. This kid doesnt have a chance, he's killing hamsters, and whatever else he can get his hands on. And he loves wearing and making new masks.
The two Virginia Tech scumbags wore masks too. One was a mute that hid behind computer aliases, he had no friends, was getting no pussy, so he made a video and killed 30 something people. The other Hokie, Mike Vick wore a different kind of mask, a football helmet, and when he wore it he was the most loved individual in the history of the school. At night he liked to go Eli Roth on his pets.
Some of you are confused and wondering what the hell any of this has to do with Halloween. Its got alot to do with it. I wouldnt be surprised at all to turn on CNN or Fox News and see Zombie's Michael Meyers neighbor exclusive with Greta Von Braun. Zombie takes a trouble kid, and follows his journey through hell, and shows ultimately what can happen to a kid that shows serious signs of being really fucked up, when the adults around him do nothing but hope things will get better.
Pathetic health care only makes Meyers worse, and when the system totally fails him, it can no longer contain him. Zombie fails visually here going for the WWE stylized comic book character version of a Slasher. It doesnt work. We dont need a Slasher that looks like WWE, especially after seeing him as a monster with Cherub like features swinging a log at another kids head. Zombie tried too hard stylistically when he was a musician, and he still tries too hard as a director. The recurring cast members only further remove the viewer from believability. But these are small gripes for a B-movie. And thats what Halloween is, its a B-movie. And if there was a B-movie rating system, Halloween would be a 4 star movie. The cinematography is distracting and amaturish, but the nostalgic big hit song selections ballance the compositions in a unique home made movie kind of way. And even though it is over stylized and over edited, it tells the story of todays troubled youth. The sick and violent boy that is screaming out for help, by wearing masks, and no one can see or hear the calls for help.
Parents of weird kids should see Halloween. Troubled kids put on masks. They fool adults. And of course not every kid ends up being an unstoppable Hall of Fame Slasher like Michael Meyers, but even the troubled kids that will never pick up a weapon and kill half their town, or buy a mansion in the middle of nowhere to torture dogs, are still living in tremndous pain. Recognize the symptoms. Its easy to tell that a young Jason Voorhees is fucked up, he's a tard with a bent head, uneven eyes, and he's a very poor swimmer, Michael Meyers on the other hand looks like half the kids I see Skateboarding on the steps at the bank. Carpenter's Michael Meyers was never quite as right next door. Its a different movie. We are living in a much different time. At the end of the Summer, Jason and Michael still aren't behind bars, they are at your local box office. Talking about how fucked up everything was before things got totally fucked up. Im talking about Jason Bourne and Michael Meyers. Two fucked up kids, that you just cant kill. What are we gonna do with em.
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