maxxpowers69

IMDb member since September 2003
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    20 years

Reviews

Wild Zero
(1999)

Best Rock N Roll Action Horror Comedy Movie EVER!!!!!!
*****************Spoilers Ahead*********************

What do you get when you cross the action zombie mayhem of Dawn of the Dead with the gender bending love of The Crying Game, mix in the frantic action-comedy found in a Tarrintio film and mix in Japan's answer to the Ramones? You Get Wild Zero, the greatest punk rock action horror comedy ever made.

Wild Zero is the story of Ace a young wanna-be punk rocker. One night after a show, he accidentally saves the life of his favorite band Guitar Wolf. In reward for his good deed the lead singer, also called Guitar Wolf, gives him a magic whistle. Blow the whistle and Guitar Wolf will come to your rescue. Meanwhile cadres of small alien space ships move into a town a few miles away and turn all of the inhabitants into zombies. This just happens to be the town where Guitar Wolfâ?Ts next show is, and Ace is headed on the way there.

Ace meets a sexy ehhh person on the way and falls in love. He gets attacked by zombies and has to save hisâ?¦ehhhâ?¦girlfriend. He blows his whistle and Guitar Wolf, some arms dealers, thieves (including one who could only be described as a Japanese Steve Buchimi) and Ace kick some zombie butt.

Wild Zero is a great blend of action, comedy, and Rock N Roll. It's a fun action packed thrill ride that well keep you laughing on the edge of your seat. It has good action, great special effect, and amazing cinematography. This film makes a perfect midnight movie.

Go out right now, find this movie, get some friends together, get some beers (or maybe some saki) and watch this movie. I cannot more highly recommend this film.

UHF
(1989)

Not as good as I remember, but not THAT bad
The 1989 "Weird" Al Yankovic vehicle is good for some chuckles but far from brilliant. I must admit it was fond childhood memories that led me to unburden myself of the $9.99 that my local Circuit City was asking for DVD. I remembered Conan The Librarian, I remembered Gahandi 2, I remembered laughing my 8-year-old butt off, but would this film stand the test of time.

When they jokes and parodies hit well in UHF they hit very well, and as always Michael Richards is wonderful. The overall impression of the film though that it is a 97 minute Weird Al video. If over an hour and a half long weird Al video is your idea of cinematic ecstasy then by all means buy this film. However, if you are looking for a smart comedy avoid this fill at all cost. Personally I like a good dumb comedy and that coupled with my nostalgia makes the purchase worthwhile. If you lack either you might not be so pleasant following you purchase.

Keep an eye out for Emo Philips though in his amazing part as a sedated shop teacher that segment alone is pure comedy.

2010
(1984)

Great Movie, Horrible Followup
************Spoilers Ahead*****************

It is near impossible to follow up a classic of modern film and not fall short. If you make a complete follow-up you are branded as a hack. If you move away from the original you are destined to be a flop. 2010 falls victim to the later yet I find this "weakness" to be this films greatest strength. In this case the filmmakers knew that they could not make a faithful sequel to Stanley Kubrick's incomprehensible 2001.

Veteran Science-Fiction auteur Peter Hyams turns in a solid , literate film that although it bears little in common with it's prequel, still delights and entertains. I feel that writer-director Hyams made a conscience effort to depart from the original in terms of dropping the minimalistic and psychedelic brilliance of the original while still crafting an intelligent Science-fiction movie. He knew he couldn't follow up 2001and he really didn't try.

Having already cut his teeth on other science-fiction films including Outland and Capricorn One, Hyams had the directorial skill required to craft a film, his cinematography is excellent as well as his writing. The acting is superb with an excellent cast including Roy Schider and John Lithgow. Don't get me wrong this is no 2001, but in terms of the craft of film making this film does no wrong. The only flaw I can find with this film is that it follows 2001.

2010 is a very well crafted film. Granted the film does not share the epic philosophical pondering of the original. Yes, it doesn't have the amazing unforgettable images of 2001. However, if you go into this film with an open mind you not expecting 2001: part two, you will find a delightful, well directed, intelligent science-fiction film.

Dawn of the Dead
(1978)

It Should Be Required By Law For You To See This Movie
******************Spoilers Ahead************************

Dawn of the Dead is the single most influential zombie movie ever made. Every zombie movie made since owes a heavy debt to George A. Romero's 1978 classic. Dawn of the Dead is the crown jewel in Romero's dead trilogy. Violent, gory, and thought provoking, Dawn of the Dead has everything a classic horror movie needs.

The story begins where Night of the Living Dead leaves off, the dead have risen and they are slowly taking over our world. Mankind is forced to reside in government controlled safe houses and there are militaristic police forces sweeping the cities for the dead. Four people united by desperation set out in a helicopter to find a safe haven. They find a monument to consumerism, a mall.

They fortify their mercantilist heaven and slowly pick off the zombies till they have a safe existence. They live the high life for a while enjoying things in life they could not previously afford. Unfortunately a group of bandits wants what they have and our heroes must fight both zombies and bandits for their very own lives.

For a cast of unknowns the Acting in Dawn of the Dead is very accomplished. Ken Foree is excellent as the grizzled zombie killing S.W.A.T commando Peter as his partner Roger is portrayed by Scott H. Reiniger . The special affects by Tom Savini are still shocking and effective even by todayâ?Ts high standards. Granted some scenes are goofy and dated, but all and all the film delivers with a good mix of horror and comic-bookie action. Every horror fan should be required by law to see this movie at least once.

It is not however not without it's flaws. I find Gaylen Ross' acting more then a little flat and am disturbed by the sheer amount of nicotine and alcohol she consumes during the picture in light of her pregnancy subplot. Also many of the minor characters suffer from poor acting (the solders at the beginning of the film), stupidity (the "Bandito" who decides to get his blood pressure checked during a zombie attack"), or both ( the people who keep zombies as pets at the beginning).

All in all I think the nice blend of action, horror, and comedy in Dawn of the Dead is delightful and I highly recommend it to any fan of the horror movie genera and many who are not. If you want a zombie movie, avoid Resident Evil , skip The Dead Hate the Living and do yourself a favor go out and rent Dawn of the Dead. You won't be disappointed

2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968)

The Greatest Science Fiction Movie Ever Made
**************Spoilers Ahead*****************



How does one review an unquestioned classic of modern cinema, and still remain honest and objective. First I have to stress that 2001 is not so much a movie as it is an audio-visual experience. You will not find an easy to follow plot structure in 2001. It is not an easy to follow film. The Film's Director, Stanley Kubrick has stated on many occasions that he wanted the audience to leave the film with more questions than answers. You will not find this a conventional Science Fiction film. 2001 defies conventions as easily as it defies explanation.

The plot of the film , which I will not touch on due to the fact that it has been covered extensively elsewhere, is secondary to the thematic questions which the film asks. 2001 is about intelligence, its effects on man, and man's effects on it. It is about mental transcendence; the mind evolving beyond the body. It is about god, or rather a supreme intelligence, and it's effect on those around it.

The film shows three kinds of intelligence. The apes in the "Dawn of Man" represent an animalistic intelligence. Brutal and warlike yet Kubrick specifically refers to them in the segment title as man. He is trying to tell us that human intelligence is low and prone to violence, due to emotions. Anger, jealousy and fear drive man to destroy one an other.

The next intelligence we encounter is HAL. HAL represents Pure Intellect. Logic with an utter lack of emotion. Kubrick shows us that Pure Intellect is just as flawed as Animal Intellect. HAL kills for perfectly logical reasons. It is not brutal. It is not evil. It is uncaring, and that uncaring is just as dangerous.

The Monolith represents supreme intelligence. In this film god is represented by a solid black monolith. Monolith represents god in an almost deistic manner in that does not interact with its surrounding, it simply waits for its surrounding to interact with it. Ape had to chose to come to the monolith, gain emotion and become man. Man had to chose to use its logic and science to find the monolith and transcend to the next level, a blend of pure logic and pure emotion.

If you go into this movie expecting an easy Science-Fiction Film, You will hate it. As easy to follow communicative entertainment 2001 falls flat. As peace of philosophical art however 2001 ranks as one of the triumphs of western culture. The entire film is an exercise in minimalism, there is either voice or music playing never both (and often neither). In fact the first piece of dialogue does not take place until roughly twenty minutes into the film. The whole effect is to take the emphasis off of the story and more on the questions.

The cinematography, direction, and effects in the film are all superb and still stand the test of time. The acting is excellent all around, particularly Douglas Rain's voice-over work as HAL. In short 2001 is an extremely well made film.

The point of all this is this: Do your self a favor, get in the right mind set and go see this film. When you know what to expect and look for 2001 is an extremely thought provoking film, the fulfills its creators expectation.

28 Days Later...
(2002)

The Thinking Man's Zombie Movie
**********Possible spoilers***************

After several weeks of mulling it over, I finally got around to sitting down and viewing Danny Boyle's 2002 hit 28 Days Later. I had a lot of apprehension going into this film due to the fact that I was a huge fan of Mr. Boyle's first three films ( Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, and A Life Less Ordinary) , as well as a huge fan of Zombie movies. With the buzz on this film , my expectations were pretty high, and I could not stand being let down . Thankfully I wasn't.

28 Days Later could best be described as the thinking mans zombie movie. It is a literate post-modern take on the genera. Gone are the voodoo and toxic waste the we settled for in the past, these zombies are the by-product of experimentation on animals. In the film a group of animal rights activists break into a lab to liberate some animals, unfortunately they also liberate a blood-born virus that induces a zombie-like rage. Within 10 to 20 seconds of contact with an infected person's bodily fluids you are infected as well. Within 28 days all of Britain has succumbed to the rage-virus.

Enter Jim, our films protagonist (deftly portrayed by Cillian Murphy), he has just awakened from a coma into this world and must cope with a world who's rules of survival have changed. Eventually he hooks up with a small band of survivors who try to find someway out of this madness.

Alex Garland's script capture is highly inventive and although the dialogue tends to be predictable, he does add a nice darkly comic edge. Anthony Dod Mantle paints an amazing picture on screen that is at the same time rich and vibrant and dark and foreboding. Some of the acting is below par, particularly from the soldiers of blockade 21. However, Naomie Harris is superb as the pharmacist cum tough-girl Selena.

Despite its flaws 28 Days Later is still an excellent film. It takes many of the conventions of zombie movies and turns them on their collective ears in order to create a swift , yet tense film. It's one of a few recent western made horror films to truly pack a punch in the scare department. All and all, I'd have to recommend 28 Days Later to any fan of the genre and to movie-goers looking for something unexpected.

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