Jeffry Houser's Blog - Movie Reviews

Sky High

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:47:00 -0400

Overview Fresh off The Man with the Screaming Brain, I needed another Bruce Campbell Fix. I got it in the most unexpected place, a kids movie named Sky High. It was brilliant. Where do the Superhero's go to learn how to be Superheros? They go to Superhero school (AKA Sky High). Unfortunately [insert ominous music here] the son (Michael Angarano) of the two most famous superhero's "The Commander" (Kurt Russell) and "Jetstream" (Kelly Preston) has no powers. He hides this from his parents and is sent off to school w/o discovering his powers. He is quickly demoted to 'side-kick', where he is taught such interesting things as "if the undead are attacking your hero, which weapon do you give him". Then, he discovers his super strength and ends up being moved into hero classes. There is an underlying side plot about 'sidekicks' vs 'heros', paralleling the clique's that exist in high school, but nothing revolutionary was touched on. The magic in this movie rivals the first Spy Kids' movie, but is a lot more fun. I was kept consistently interested. Style This movie is campy, but it works really well. I knew i was in for a B-movie inspired treat when the Super Hero parents destory a huge robot in the beginning, and it reminds me of the old Godzilla movies. The character "Warren Peace" actually quotes from the book "War and Peace", when reading a fortune cookie's fortune. Bits like this are sprinkled throughout the movie. Quotes "So, my girlfriend becomes my arch enemy, my arch enemy becomes my best friend, and my best friend becomes my girlfriend. That's high school for you." - Will Stronghold, summing up the movie Consensus You got Bruce Campbell, Bowling for Soup, and superheros. You can't go wrong with this one. I'd see a sequel.

Mr and Mrs Smith

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 21:23:00 -0400

Overview Is there anyone who doesn't know the plot of this movie? It was so highly publicized from within the commercials and its theatre run. Two killers are married to each other, but neither knows what the other's true job is. They work for competing agencies. They are hired to kill each other. The actual events are a bit more complicated than that, but the summary is good enough. The first third of the movie is the couple living in bland marriage. The space between them is growing. Since you already know what is going on, it is a bit satirical. I'm not sure if it was intended to be, but it is. Then the guns start blazing at each other for the second third of the movie. The final third of the movie is when they make-up and then flight from their bosses who want to take them in. This movie has action, comedy, and is a great twist on the "buddy cop" formula. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work in the current rendition. I bet this could have been a really great movie if they cut it down to 90 minutes. Instead we had a mediocre summer blockbuster. Style This movie has comedy elements combined with action elements, and never really succeeds at any of them. I smiled a bit, but overall the performances were bland. The chemistry between Angelina and Brad was lacking. I thought it was the making of this movie that hooked up, so their plastic performances was a bit surprising. Watch it Again I'm glad I saw it, but I doubt you'll find a convincing reason to make me see it again. Buy

The Fog

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:34:00 -0400

Overview I'm watching the Fog. It is a 2005 remake of the John Carpenter classic. This is a good example of refactoring a story, retaining the original premise, but expanding on it. Ghosts are coming back from the dead (100 years later) to wreak revenge on the descendants of those who wronged them. All the primary elements are there, such as the fog [duh], the pieces of [stuff] washing up on the beach, the cover-up from 100 years ago, and the radio announcer (and her kid). Yet, they give a different slant to some of the elements and I think, except on one point, the story is very much improved. The original movie told the backstory via a journal. In this rendition they give a little more realism to the backstory by revealing it through [100 year] flashbacks as the movie progresses. The journal is still there, but just it illustrates itself wherever possible. My one problem with the movie is the premise. In the original, I seem to remember that "6 must die" and the movie ends when the last one falls. In this remake, all descendants are targeted, but the ghosts leave before extracting full revenge. They elaborated a bit on the story of the ghosts. The heroine actually takes the place of a dead girl [presumably the wife of the captain]. It was a nice touch, but they left it hanging there. We're never sure quite why Clark (Kent from the Smallville TV show) is left standing, even though he was on the "revenge' list. Style This remake does a real good job of improving on the original. The original cut of the classic used Fog as the villain, and just didn't work. They re-shot a bunch of scenes and added more characters in the fog and a few gruesome close ups. In this rendition they were able to make the fog scary. The shapes and ghosts in the fog are downplayed until the end of the movie, where they play a big part. The filmmakers did a great job of slowly rising to a huge crescendo. Buy

Cube / Cube 2 / Cube Zero

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:43:00 -0400

Overview In Cube, a handful of people wake up in a room with six doors, one on each wall plus one on the ceiling and one on the floor. They start exploring and pick up people along the way. They only have scatterings of memory from "their previous" life and don't know how they ended up in there. When moving from cube to cube they try to unravel the mystery while finding the way out and avoiding the traps. The movie is unique because there is no explanation given, and no distinct enemy. It is an exploration of human behavior and how people react to each other in dire situations. As the story unfolds, we find that most of the characters are tied to the cube in some manner, which makes things even more intriguing. Can they work together to figure out the puzzle of the cube? Yes, they figure it out, but by the end only one prisoner is remaining. The traps finish some while others are done-in by the group fighting. We never find out what is beyond the cube, as the movie ends as the last survivor traverses the exit path. Next comes Cube 2: Hypercube. It is much the same plot as the first, except now they are in a high tech structure. Instead of the 'Cutting Wires' and poison gas of the first movie, they are in one with alternate realities, weird 'wavering' walls, and blobs of [something]. Once again, the inhabitants are all tied to the cube somehow. At the end we get a glimpse of the outside world. It appears to be some military installation, and they are able to retrieve a "recording" of something. We never find out more about this recording, though. Phase 2 of the cube project is complete. Cube Zero is a prequel. This is unique because it concentrates not on the cube prisoners, but the 'button pushing' prison-guards. I found Cube 0 to be intriguing, as the guards argue about the ethics of their job. Instructions are given to them via cards that come down an elevator. At the end we are told this is all an experiment, both on the prison guards and the prisoners. It seems to be a study of human behavior. The end of Cube 0 runs right into the beginning of Cube, which ties the two movies together nicely. Watch it Again I'd definitely pick up a fourth movie, but I don't know if I'd sit through the 'trilogy' again. I might watch the DVD commentary on Cube 0 in hopes that they offer some more explanation behind the cube lore. I want to know more about what the "cubes" are and why they exist and who are the people inside and why are they put inside. And who is really in control of the whole cube project? Buy

Waxworks / Waxworks 2

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 19:45:00 -0400

Overview There is no such thing as too much wax is there? Well, perhaps if you are the one that they are pouring it over. This weekend I also got to take some time to watch the Waxworks double feature. This is a 80s movie with a budget. But, I loved it anyway. Things tie together rather creatively. Since the screenplay was written in a weekend, the movie is more impressive than you'd think. In waxworks, a wax museum just pops out of nowhere in a small town. And people are disappearing at the same time. Suspicious, isn't it? I wonder what is happening to the people. Apparently each of the exhibits at the wax museum (each one of them a spoof of some of your favorite horror movies) is really a portal to another time / another dimension. People pushed through the portal become 'victims' of the scene. Once all 20 scenes have their victims the figures living in the scenes become alive. There were scenes reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead, Dracula, the Wolfman, Little Shop of Horrors, and more that I can't remember. Some kids get wind of what is going on. Thankfully the hero's uncle knows exactly what is going on. The scenes are completed, the monsters come alive and a hilarious battle ensues. This movie had more of a nod to the 1953 House of Wax than the 2005 House of Wax did. The museum caretaker dies in a huge vat of wax as the waxworks burns down. Unfortunately, something survives the fire and it is the hand from one of the zombies. That is where the second movies start's up. The hand escapes to kill the heroine's father. In an effort to prove her story, they go off on an adventure through time. The first movie was a Slasher film of sorts, but the second is more of an adventure story. The hero and heroine end up as warriors in an alternate dimension with a battle between God and the Devil. Blah, blah, blah, they make it back to the real world with a zombie hand, thus proving credence to the heroine's story and letting her off the hook. Style These two movies are 80s budget. The stunts are flimsy, the effects cheesy, and the wax 'statues' move and blink their eyes. But, the movies are as enjoyable as any other B-movie you can drudge up. Quotes The uncle (who died in the first one) comes back as a bird in the second movie and justifies his presence by saying "This is the only way they'd let me be in this one." It's a scream-like tongue-in-cheek maneuver, but it works. Buy

Clerks 2

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:09:00 -0400

There are only three times in my life where I have seen the entire audience react to a movie. The first was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. I probably saw it opening weekend. There were a ton of kids there, and they cheered through the whole movie. It was a lot of fun. The second was Aracnophobia. This was billed as "thrill-omedy", except there was no 'omedy' in it. The whole theater screamed through the whole movie. It was pretty scarey. To top it off, my friend two seats over me, kept reaching over and used his hand to 'mimic' a spider crawling up my back. The third movie was Clerks 2. I have never heard that much laughter in a movie theatre ever. At one point tears were starting to roll down my eyes because I was laughing so hard. With so many movies, the best parts are put in the trailers and commercials and there are no surprises in the theatre. You may have heard the line "There is only Return, and its' of the Jedi not the King," right? While that is a memorable spot in the movie it surely doesn't tip the iceburg of the humor that lies within. With Clerks 2, the best parts are not TV safe! If you are easily offended, you might want to back off this one. Experience with Clerks is not needed, but you should see it anyway because it's a fantastic movie. Oh, and you can get your name in the credits on the DVD. There were about 5 minutes worth of name scrolling in the movie version.

Mystery at the Wax Museum / House of Wax

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:29:00 -0400

Overview This was a weekend for wax. I sat through the Mystery at the Wax Museum (1933), it's 1953 remake named House of Wax, and the 2005 movie by the same name. I watched them in 'release' order. The Mystery of the wax Museum was an old movie, back when Hollywood was still learning the medium for story telling. Some of the parts seemed rather disjointed and the story didn't flow very well. A wax sculptor fights with a business partner who wants to use underhanded techniques to cash out of the business. After a fight, the business partner leaves an unconscious sculptor in the flaming wax museum. He survives, but loses the use of his hands. He 'goes underground' and vanishes. Everyone thinks he is dead. He returns, slightly psychotic. With the loss of his hands he 'hires' a few people to help him out. It turns out that they are just kidnapping dead bodies and then using a process to cover them with wax. This is an effort to recreate his lost 'treasures'. The movie has a lot of interesting plot points, but is lacking with the glue that holds it together. Thankfully, the 1953 remake fixes a lot of the pacing problems from the first one. It is also one of the first movies every to be shot in 3D and stars Vincent Price as the crazy sculptor. This movie was a pleasure to watch. A few of the scenes were notably 3D, but they were lost in the 2D DVD conversion of the movie. When the wax museum opened for the first time they had a guy with a paddleball. He even spoke w/ 'you' the audience and tried to hawk us popcorn. Another highlight of this movie was Dabbs Greer as one of the cops. Dabs is most famous for Reverend Aldron from Little House. He has an extremely distinctive voice. Since T is forcing me through all seasons of little house (We're half way through season 8), it was cool to see him in an earlier role. He was unrecognizable except for the voice. That brings us to the 2005 House of Wax. This movie had nothing to do with the previous movies, other than containing the same name. Straying away from the creepy/ mysterious feel of the previous movies, this one was turned into your standard slasher. It had the parade of random pop icons (Such as Paris Hilton) and a cast of unknowns. One cool idea in this movie was that there actually was a wax museum built completely from wax. At the end of the movie this house burns down. I'm not quite sure how. Have you ever tried to burn a candle without a wick? You can't because was doesn't burn. It just melts when it heats up. With everything made of wax, there was nothing to burn. It was cool to see Paris due, I guess. The 'leads' in this movie were a brother sister set of twins. They just didn't pull it off as well as the Jeeper Creeper pair. I was told this remake had a lot of nods to the originals, but even watching them back to back I didn't see any. This is one to forget. Buy

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 11:03:00 -0400

Overview Tons of spoilers, so you've been warned. Come one, come all, to see the theatrical recreation of the Ghost Pirate Lechuck. T and I went to a midnight showing of Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest last night. It had everything you would have expected. First, let me complain about the theatre. Because of the crowd they were trickling people in the theatre few by few and trying to force assigned seating onto us. I wasn't happy with that. T and I ended up with horrible seats, way too close to the screen. Someone told us they had multiple midnight showings; which would make sense. However, if we had known that before-hand, we would have held out to be the first in "Theatre 2" when it opened. As you would expect, the movie was full of piratey goodness. Captain Jack Sparrow along with most of your favorites (and some of the easily forgotten) actors from the first film. There was a lot of action, and a lot of humor. Unfortunately, they replaced the "sneaky sly Captain Jack who can talk his way out of anything" with a "I'm a cartoon character and am indestructable even when a bomb explodes in my pants or an anvil falls on my head". It's not that I wasn't laughing through the first half of the movie, mind you. It's just that I prefer the sly talker to the comic violence. The Ghost Pirate LeChuck makes an appearance, playing the 'pirate beast' Dave Jones. He has squid for a beard. Or maybe he is a squid. The story was unclear on his origins and mythology. There was something about him not being able to get onto land more than every 10 years. And something about a lost love. Perhaps they'll explain more in the third installment. This one leaves you satisfied, but is still a cliff hanger Following the monkey island theme, the Voodoo Lady also made an appearance. She was living in her Monkey Island 3 house. They alluded to the fact that she had some relation to Davy Jones (perhaps his lost love?). To add a bit of plot in here, Davy Jones wants Captain Jack Sparrow's soul. We aren't sure why. Jack tries to spend time on land to avoid Davy Jones. He convinces Will Turner (Legolas) to go onto Davy Jones' [cursed] ship to search for a key that will open the Dead Man's Chest which contains Davy Jones' heart. There is also an East Indian Trading Company that is causing havoc, and wants Jack's compass (remember the compass that didn't point north?). What they really want is the Dead Man's Chest, with Davy Jones' heart, so they can control the sea. If you get the chance to watch the first movie before seeing the second, I strongly recommend it. I'm sure you'll want to re-watch the second movie before seeing the third. I know I will. Update: The day after i wrote this, the Voodoo lady entry on Wikipedia was edited to compare the Voodoo Lady with Tia Dalma (The 'Voodoo Lady' from Pirates 2). A Wikipedia entry on Tia Dalma also went up. I find it doubtful that this review sparked the Wikipedia changes, but remember you heard it hear first.

American Psycho / American Psycho II

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 01:42:00 -0400

Overview American Physco by Bret Easton Ellis was published in March of 1991 and ended up receiving quite a bit of bad press. Feminists declared it as a 'cookbook' for people wanting to degrade / torture / kill women. The book is a morbid satiric tale about rich life in the 80s. I never read the book, but a movie was released in 2000. In an attempt to head off the bad press that the book received, the movie studio got women to write the screenplay and direct the movie. The movie was created as a period piece, trying to capture the essence of the 80s. When I think of period pieces of always think of trying to replicate something happening so long ago, not something that happened in my lifetime. They did a good job as the period piece. The movie excels at creating a creepy atmosphere, as we follow the 'adventures' of wealthy executive Patrick Bateman, through a few days of his life. It is unclear whether this guy is a deranged murder (who gets away with it), a figment of someone else's imagination, or a guy with a rather morbid imagination. Did the murders really happen? It is unknown. There is also a strong undercurrent in which people getting confused for each other; and everyone is made up to look alike. Despite the fact that "person A" is killed in the beginning; other characters in the "merger and acquisition" scene claim that they kept eating with him. The movie is creepy and will leave you walking away with an uncomfortable feeling in your gut. The book never had a sequel, but Hollywood doesn't go that way. Every movie must be done at least twice. The sequel is nothing like the original. It isn't a period piece; it isn't creepy; it isn't sarcastic; and it isn't nearly as confusing. It isn't a bad movie either. Instead of the black comedy style of the first, the second leans toward the "slasher film" genre. It has better acting than what you'd expect from most slasher films, and significantly less gore. It starred Mila Kunis as the 'only survivor' of Patrick Bateman's murder spree. The flashbacks to 'Patrick' were surprisingly well done, and matched well enough with the style of the first movie. Whether good or bad; I couldn't get past the fact that "Jackie Burkhart" was killing people. I'd love to see them make an American Physco 3 with the whole cast of That 70's Show. Watch it Again Probably not. Buy

Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Thu, 04 May 2006 12:37:00 -0400

George is finally going to release the original theatrical version of his first Star Wars trilogy on DVD: More info over here I'm not expecting much extras, as it's a two disc set that includes both the original and the special edition version of each movie. I wonder if the 'special edition' be the theatrical release or will it have the changes added to the DVD release? Thinking about it, I thought that the prequel trilogy DVD releases included extra scenes mixed among the movie. Are the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars prequel trilogy available?

King Kong Sucks!

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:54:00 -0400

Overview Fresh off the heels of his Lord of the Rings success, Peter Jackson sets about to remake King Kong, a movie about everyone's favorite giant ape. Lord of Rings had a deep-rooted lore in modern society, and Jackson's interpretation was a masterpiece, including a phenomenal cast, great effects, and a fantastic story. It's a shame that his second attempt at a big screen movie lacks all of these elements. I never saw the original King Kong so cannot compare new to old; but this movie drags. It is extremely slow moving for the first hour, but never manages to move past that. Jack Black's character is a con man that needs to make a movie. He has a secret map. It is never explained why he has this map, nor why he wants to go to "Skull Island'. He steals some camera equipment from the movie studio that is gonna fire him; then cons a lead actress (Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow) to join the crew. Along the road are also Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll, the playright; Kyle Chandler as the lead male actor, and Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Englehorn. Don't worry, you don't have to remember the names; there won't be a quiz. Jack Black cons the captain to take off, despite not having proper clearance. Then he convinces him to follow this map despite the fact that there is nothing out there. After an hour of random rowing through uncharted seas, the crew comes across Skull Island. A few go ashore and are attacked by the Natives. A few die, and the lady is used as a sacrifice for Kong. Finally we get to see the big ape. The movie starts to pick up here; as Jackson decided to cut in a half hour of Jurassic Park footage. I have no idea why Skull Island is full of dinosaurs. The movie is supposed to be about King Kong, so the amount of time the crew spends fighting dinosaurs while trying to rescue the princess seems wasted. The action scenes in Lord of the Rings were pulled off beautifully, but in this one you get the impression that they were filmed from the inside of mash pit. There is a lot of jerking around of the camera and I was getting nauseous. This was a nice contrast to the slow moving camera shots of the first hour, but it I think that for a $20 million salary, Jackson could have found a happy medium. The capture Kong, bring him back to New York and then I fell asleep. When I woke up Kong was falling off the empire state building. From what I understand, they used real strings for this famous scene, but added the planes in digitally. Style If there was one success that this movie had, it was the making of a period piece. The movie took place in 1933, and everything showed that from the costumes to the sets to the boat. T (A history buff) enjoyed the first half of the movie for that part of it. Watch it again I fell asleep during the last half hour of the movie. The first 2 and half-hours were so bad I'm not even going to re-watch what I slept through. However, I think the footage is good enough that the movie could be edited down into a 2-hour masterpiece. If they were to do that, I might give it another look. But I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one. I do a slight curiosity to go see the original. Waste Your Money

Halloween 1 and 2

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:59:00 -0400

Overview I wasn't watching my netflix list too closely, and ended up receiving Halloween 4, 5, and 6 all on the same day. Usually I like to throw in a "T-movie" every once in a while. ( A T-movie is a movie that my Girlfriend, T, will watch with me). Before I got too far ahead of myself I wanted to get down reviews for the first three Halloween movies. Here I'll talk about one and two, since they blend together so well they are almost like one long movie. Halloween starts with our young hero (AKA The Killer AKA The Shape AKA Michael Meyers) killing his sister. Fast forward 15 (or so) years later and he is breaking free from a mental institution. Dr Loomis, Michael's doctor, informs us that Michael is not like a normal human; he is soulless and pure evil. Michael goes back to his hometown of Haddonfield Illinois and kills a bunch of people on the way, meeting up with a bunch of old friends in that horror movie way. Jamie Lee Curtis' plays one of those 'surviving' friends, Laurie Strode. This is Jamie Lee Curtis' first movie role, and she does a fantastic job. Doctor Loomis is portrayed by Donald Pleasance. The first movie is just about an escaped mental patient killing people. There is nothing overall sinister about the plot. The movie is a bit slow moving but that is not a complaint, it increases the suspense. The movie will have you on the edge of your seat; it's really scarey. . The second movie picks up right where the first one ends off. It also adds a new dimension to the Halloween plot, saying that Michael returned to kill his sister. He is fulfilling some type of ritual, called samhein. This felt kind of contrived, but it's important for the rest of the franchise so I'll ignore it. The second one had a bigger budget, which means there are a lot more stunts. Unfortunately a few of these felt like stunts for stunts sake, and did not move the story along. For example, a cop car hits a kid and everything bursts into flame. What exactly was that kid carrying? Style Halloween is creepy no matter how you slice it. In these first two movies, the supernatural element is played down in favor of a more believable series of events. A lot of the creepiness is due to John Carpenter's soundtrack. Yes, John Carpenter the legendary horror director also wrote the soundtrack for this movie. Without the soundtrack the movie would be pretty lame. The movie starts out all open and airy (and bright) and during the course of the movie becomes more confined as night falls it becomes more confined (to the house, and eventually to a closet). The first movie is fantastic. The second one fails to capture all the magic of the first, but is still a great entry into the franchise. Halloween is the movie that started the Slasher movie craze of the 80s. But, despite the genre that it helped launch (or revive?), it's interesting to note that these movies lack the gore you might find in a Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street or most others. This is a classier horror film and it is pulled off so well it doesn't need the blood to keep you interested. It concentrates on the suspense, not the blood and fake scares. It also lacks the "Kids know what's going on, and parents/cops don't believe them" ideal that proliferates so many of these movies. In both of the movies the cops are on the ball, helping Loomis track down Michael. The first Michael Meyers portrayer also lends a lot of is the better than the second. (A different actor was used in each movie), but it still doesn't take away from the creepy feel evoked throughout. Extras There was a small featurette on each disc that talk about the phenomena that Halloween became. It is definitely worth watching, but nothing to write home about. I wish there were commentary, though. other Thoughts Michael's mask was a modified Captain Kirk mask. This is always how I all envisioned Star Trek. Watch it Again Halloween ended up being too short for TV after cutting out the scenes that couldn't be shown in TV. During the filming of Halloween 2, the crew filmed some scenes to be cut back into Halloween 1 to lengthen it. I know there is a DVD version that includes these extra scenes, so I'd love to see that one. There is also a 25th anniversary DVD that has commentary on Halloween 1; I might try to track that one down. Buy

The Blob Movies

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:51:00 -0400

Overview: The Blob movies just rolled through my Netflix queue. We are talking about the 1958 classic, its 1972 sequel (Beware the Blob) and the 1988 remake. I was turned onto the Blob because it was part of the inspiration for the Chiodo brothers Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Since I was watching one, I figured I might as well watch all three. It is obvious which parts of Killer Klowns the Blob inspired. The beginning of KKFOS and The original Blob are very similar. People are hanging out and they see a meteor crash. They investigate. And old man beat them there. After that the two movies deviate from the path, and explore their own separate themes. (Klowns vs Jelly). The old man found some kind of jelly thing in this big crater where the meteor landed. He already opened the meteor and found the blob inside. It just looks like some strange growth on his hand. Quick run him to the doctor, and that is where things start to move forward. The surprisingly thing lacking from the original Blob movie is, well, the Blob. Other than a few scenes, everything is off-screen and alluded to. The effects are pretty good for their time, like when the blob gets big enough to engulf the movie theatre or restaurant. The chemistry is pretty good between the actors, and you can't expect such things to be up to today's standards. Some of the extras referred to a cut scene in which one character is actually absorbed. I wish that cut scene was included in the extras, because it never happens on screen. Beware the Blob, was, unfortunately a horrible follow up. Don't waste your time. At the end of the Blob, the Blob is brought to Antarctica where the cold will keep it dormant. It starts with a scientist returning home with a piece of it. That piece melts, absorbs the cat, the scientist, and his wife. Things move on from there. They capture it at a skating rink. It was done in the same style as the first Blob. This movie contains everything that didn't work in the first one, and nothing that did. The Blob (1988) was more of a refactoring than a remake. A lot of the same elements are there, but it is different. They added a few interesting plot points that improve the movie. First off, the blob is not some unknown thing from outer space. The meteor is man made and this is a government project. The government is willing to sacrifice this small town to recapture. Second, the blob is more active. Instead of just rolling and absorbing people they give it arms and it reaches out to grab people. Unlike the government introduction, this is not an improvement. Since it was 1988, this one is a lot gorier than the previous two. There are more kills and the kills are more graphic. While the first two rely on your imagination this is a lot more in your face. I don't have a preference to one approach over the other. Unfortunately none of the movies are able to balance the "scares" with "gore". The first two are kind of boring, while the latter is kind of gross (if you don't like that sort of thing). Watch it Again Probably Not, I'd rather see Killer Klowns. Extras: Nothing worthy of note

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 06:04:00 -0400

Overview To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad." --Jack Handy, deep thoughts If you want to scare a child, bring him to the service and throw him to the clowns. There are stories all over about clowns scaring children,, yet still the circus is known for being a jolly happy event in a child's life. Bah Humbug. Anything can be made into a killer. The movie starts as our heros at make-out point. They see a comet crash and decide to investigate. They discover a huge "circus tent" and decide to go to the circus. Unfortunately, this is no circus you want to go to, because they soon find people in a Cotton Candy pod. They run for it and no one believes them. Things kind of go downhill as clowns wreck havoc around town. style This movie is campy. It is before the era of digital effects, but that is just part of its charm. The constumes are great. quotes "Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Hoolllyy Shit." -- Officer Moody in a very sarcastic voice. Girl Factor T wouldn't come near this w/ a 10 foot pole Watch it Again Yes, and yes. When does the sequel come out? There is so much more that can be done with this genre. This movie was inspired by the Blob. I've put that next on my list. Extras Commentary, tons of featurettes about all aspects of Killer Klowns, home video from the set, and home video from pre-clown movies made by teenagage Chiodo brothers. There is plenty to keep a Klown fan happy. Purchase

Hoodwinked

info@theflexshow.com (Jeffry Houser and John Wilker) — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 21:38:00 -0400

Foreward I made an adventure out to see Hoodwinked this weekend. It wasn't the most unpleasant movie experience I had, but it doesn't rank up there. T and I decided to bring her psuedo-neices J (5 years) and B (3 years) along to the movies w/ us. First off, their bed time is 8. The movie started at 7:40. Perhaps that should have been a warning flag. Oddly enough, very few of my problems about the experience were with the children (But more on that later). We leave Mommy's (We can call her R) house ~6:30. Before we are at the end of the street, B starts saying "Wait, you forgot mommy, you forgot mommy." T said "Mommy isn't coming." After some conversation, T made B decide whether to come to the movies w/ us or stay home w/ Mommy. She decided to come along. This is the first time she went to the movies w/o Mommy. This is a theatre I've never been to before; it is on the top floor (3rd floor) of a mall. We parked at the bottom, and entered through Burlington Coat Factory. All of a sudden, T says she forgot her phone and runs back to the car leaving me to watch two kids. I survived. We traversed through the mall w/ two kids up to the theatre. Hey, People do it all, but most of them are parents. It wasn't too bad, though. The line was around the corner. I have never seen a movie line that long before, and I saw Episode 1 on opening day. Looking at my watch, it's roughly 7. Still plenty of time to get into the theatre before the movie starts, but we'll probably miss the "golden seats" in the center. ( Yes, I count rows). One must forgive these little luxurious when dealing with kids. Anyway, the line moves fairly quickly (for its length) and J asks about popcorn as we trudge into the theatre. I told her that we should get in, then I'll come back out and get popcorn. It's about 7:25 (movie starts in 15 minutes). We get in right away (no line at the ticket booth) and take seats. First word out of J's mouth is "you said you'd get popcorn." so, I grab a ticket stub from T and go out to get popcorn (and something to drink). I, inadvertently, get in a deserted line. We're not sure what happened to the attendant, from what I gathered he just left the line after serving one customer, leaving others waiting. Maybe it was a bathroom emergency. I was too far back to notice. The line moved up because people were leaving it, but I was oblivious. Finally, two people in front of me someone starts throwing a fit about not being waited on. A manager started waiting on people. Around this time I realize I'm not sure what drinks are 'suitable' for children drinking and give T a cell call. It goes right to voicemail because she already turned the phone off (she doesn't want to get lynched by other movie goers). To make things simple, I order a "Number 1" which is a large popcorn and 2 medium sodas. I figure T can take 1 soda and I'll take the other, and the popcorn can sit between the two kids. The large popcorn was bigger than the smaller child (who actually doesn't like popcorn, so I didn't need to buy any under the guise that she may want some). The medium sodas felt like the equivalent to 2 liters of soda. While getting the food, I realize that the line to get into the theatre went from 2 people to 200 people. It was 7:39 now (one minute till showtime) and I just went up to the front and walked on through. No one questioned me. Ts eyes bugged out when I got back with the food. J was happy to see me. Some soda spilled on me as I sat down (one of the cups was overflowing) and that put me in a bit of a sour mood. We were sitting "Me, B, J, T". I said, lets move so the popcorn is between the children, and the movie started. I handed the popcorn to J, a soda to T and sat down. A few minutes into the movie we actually did try to move the children. The kids don't know how to speak in "quiet" voices yet, so that was a bit problematic, but we did it. B was entranced in the animation and not paying attention to anything. Somewhere in the middle of the movie T tried to cut off J and B from popcorn and Soda. J (the older one) accepted it, but I thought B was going to have a crying fit during the movie. For the first time in my life, I was the party ruining it for everyone else. At least twice during the movie, a usher came in (with flashlight) and walked through the theatre. I think he was looking for movie hoppers. Overall, I survived... Overview The basic plot of the movie; for those that don't know, is the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Grandma, the woodsman, little red, and the wolf. This is the story behind the story, as the police detective discovers (after responding to a domestic disturbance call). The 'new part' of the story is that someone is stealing recipes throughout the forest, and Grandma's recipes are next on the list. All the restaurants are closing down as their recipes vanish. These four characters are caught in the story, and it all comes together at the end in a predictable way (well, it was predictable to me, I'm not sure if J understood it; to B it was probably just animated pictures) Style Cartoons, cartoons, cartoons, cartoons. The animation was a wonder. The songs were funny and helped tell the story. A Ben Folds performance of "Red is Blue" was in the middle (he didn't write the song, just recorded it for the movie). It was a catchy song and really hit the spot. J didn't understand why Red was Blue and I had to explain a bit (in the middle of the movie) Girl Factor T enjoyed it. Watch it Again When it comes out on video, I look forward to seeing it in the comfort of my own home; I bet there were a lot of jokes that I just missed.