
Leofwine_draca
Joined May 2000
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I've seen a few Chaplin movies up to now but I knew I had to watch MODERN TIMES because I found the subject matter really appealing: a satire heavily based on the automative process, thoroughly researched by the writer, star and director who interviewed Henry Ford and visited his factory for inspiration. And, indeed, the factory scenes are as funny as anything else you'll see from the era, and that includes classics like SAFETY LAST and BLOCKHEADS. The rest of the film follows a familiar pattern involving romance and run-ins with the law, but it all plays out at speed, with excellent gags, stunts and character work. There really is nothing not to love about this one.
I should note from the start that I haven't seen any others in this series but this seemed like as good a place to start as any. To my surprise, I found myself really enjoying this one. Sure, it's as cheap, cheerful and cheesy as any other Full Moon production you'd care to mention, but the difference with this one is that they've put a lot of time and effort into everything and it really shows. The human comedy is as annoyingly laboured as ever, and the acting wooden throughout, but the scenes of miniaturisation and large-scale destruction work rather well, with just the right style of CGI to suit the B-movie tone. Overall I found it an affectionate tribute to the kaiju classics of old.
BLOOD SHOT is another pitifully-budgeted vampire horror flick that mixes in some thriller and action elements to no good measure. The story has various Russian and Middle Eastern gangs teaming up to get hold of a bomb while the FBI sends in a special agent, who randomly happens to be a vampire, to sort things out. There's an annoying human cop who gets in the way too. This strives for an '80s feel but never really works thanks to the paucity of the budget and amateurish nature of the direction. The hulking Michael Bailey Smith is good value as the vampire, and there are welcome cameos from genre mainstays Lance Henriksen, Brad Dourif and Christopher Lambert (the latter bizarrely playing the president!), but overall this is fairly pitiful.