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A made-for-television sequel... How often do I get to say it's actually an improvement over an original that was already pretty good? Fred Walton directs this sequel to his 1979 semi-slasher film When A Stranger Calls. Carol Kane and Charles Durning are also back in the roles they played in the original film. An interesting addition to this cast is the lovely Jill Schoelen.
The film opens strong; one might say even stronger than the original. And though things slow down a little in the middle, the climax is pretty intense. Pre-dating Scream by three years, When A Stranger Calls Back almost offers a template for Kevin Williamson's much praised script.
My personal opinion? This is a very good thriller, a more than worthy successor to the 1979 original.
A thriller that I thought wasn't particularly thrilling. Not bad, either, but nothing special.
RED DAWN (2012) Oh my god, SO much better!!! It's still no Casablanca by any means but at least it told the story the original tried to do, with a little damn entertainment. I wasn't bored this time. I especially liked how they had the same 'deer blood drinking' scene. In the original, C Thomas Howell shot his first deer (for food), so Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen gathered some of its blood in a little cup and told him to drink it because it was some sort of tradition. It was played so serious and me and my girlfriend both suspected they were messing with him and would start laughing any second. They didn't :( In the remake though, that's exactly what happened and it was one of many little things that make me like these guys so much more. I mean, they were in this war, but they were still kids, you know?
Like I said, it certainly won't win any damn awards but IMO it was leaps and bounds over the original.
The only complaint I had actually was that they didn't ask Liam Hemsworth to play the younger brother (the brother of Chris Hemsworth's character for those who haven't seen it). I mean, maybe it' just me, but that seemed like a no-brainer.
HALLOWEEN : RESURRECTION
I watched it, not entirely because I wanted to... but because it popped up as a suggestion on Netflix, and I didn't feel like getting out of bed to put in a DVD of a better movie...
God was this movie garbage... anyone who thinks Rob Zombie ruined the franchise clearly doesn't remember this little nugget of joy... almost everything about it is bad, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that... everything from the direction, the lighting, the acting, the editing, the musical score - it all screamed direct to video level trash.
I can only imagine Jamie Lee Curtis had to make a down payment on a beachfront property to excuse being in this
i sadly went opening night as well.... i wish i hadn't...... i knew the filmmakers flushed what little respectability they had down the toilet, when they decided to have Busta Rhymes kung-fu kicking Michael Myers.....
But for some reason I've never bothered watching all the Halloween films. Maybe I should do at some point.
I've started watching all the Stallone films, as promised
Death Race 2000
I've always liked this film. It's a fun, violent, clever, grindehouse/exploitation action flick with satire and black humour mixed in with the death and destruction. The action is good and there's much more story than you'd expect. There's a lot of twists and turns. Stallone is really good in one of his few villain roles as a psycho driving a car with mounted guns and blades, and the film is proof that you don't need a massive budget to make a good action film. I think the only problem is that the low budget does show and it doesn't quite live up to it's premise in some ways.
8.5/10
Capone (1975)
Pretty generic gangster film. I don't know much about Al Capone but apparently this film is meant to be very historically inaccurate too. There's nothing you haven't seen before. Tommy guns, posh cars, cigar smoking suit wearing Italian American gangsters, violence, sex, etc. It was alright, it entertained me but nothing special. Decent performances (the casting was good), and there are some good scenes (I liked the gunfights). It was entertaining but there are plenty of better gangster films you could watch.
7/10
To be honest I just wanted to get through it so I could tick this film off the list and get round to watching
Rocky
The film that made Sylvester Stallone a household name and it is a brilliant film. It's an uplifting story (remember those, before everything had to be grim and depressing) that's brilliantly acted, brilliantly written, brilliantly directed and brilliantly scored. Everything about this film is great and it deserved the Oscars it got. It's the best boxing movie ever made (although Raging Bull does come close), it's my favourite film and it's one of the best films of all time. It kicked off a whole new genre of films (underdog sports movies) but none of them did it as well as this. It's an iconic classic, not just an amazing film but an important part of cinema history and if you haven't seen it then what the f**k are you doing with your life, watch it now!
I'm not sure what the best movie ever made is but Rocky is definetely up there and it's without a doubt my favourite film.
10/10
Stallone ranking
1) Rocky (10/10)
2) Death Race 2000 (8.5/10)
3) Capone (7/10)
You can pretty much stay away from 5, 8 and Rob Zombie's H2. 3 isn't bad as long as you know ahead of time that Myers isn't in it.
6 is bad, but at least it has some good parts. I think Myers looked the best in that one; he was big and scary. I pretty much fast forward through most of that one :D
Resurrection is the one that I rate lowest in the series. An anger inducing retcon from the best part of H20, a terrible script and a sad attempt at appealing to the "internet crowd". The only good things about this film are the score and the fact that Tyra Banks gets killed. Busta Rhymes has the charisma of yesterday's pizza after I ate it and Ryan Merriman's sense of drama is comparable to that of Halle Berry in DAD. Some say Resurrection is a desecration of the Halloween series. I would say it's a defecation on the Halloween series. Compared to Resurrection, Season Of The Witch is Oscar material; and that film almost claims Stonehenge is in Ireland.
1) Rob Zombie's Halloween
2) Platinum Dunes' TCM
3) Platinum Dunes' NOES
4) Platinum Dunes' F13
5) Black Christmas
6) ...
I honestly don't understand why everyone hated this movie. From the second it started, I LOVED it!! This was exactly the 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' I grew up with brought to life! Totally enjoyable. One of the biggest complaints was that there were too many villains. Well there were really only two main ones, because
But all in all, I'm glad I bought it. Now I'm just waiting for Winter Soldier to come out (which I also missed in theatres)
Oculus I honestly only watched this on recommendation from my niece, who swore it was the scariest movie ever. It wasn't.
lol But it wasn't a total waste either. It had some creepy parts, and the two main characters were likeable- the girl was played by Karen Gillan (Dr. Who's Amy Pond & Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy) I loved Rob Zombie's Halloween. He sure dropped the ball with the sequel though. Good god....
He dropped it so hard it went out the other end of the Earth and is in deep space now.
But the 2007 one on the other hand: I love how we got a whole new story for the first half, and only the second half was the 'remake' of the original movie. That being the escape from the Asylum, stalking of Laurie & friends and climax. The pacing was soooooo much better here by doing that. I love the 1978 original, but [prepare for sacrilege] it's really slow.
Absolutely. The 2003 TCM remake was good, but it appears as though it's been abandoned in favor of making actual sequels to the original. (If only RoboCop would do the same...)
@thelivingroyale
if you like slasher films - then you really need to trick - or - treat yourself to some Halloween ;) ..... at the very least the original 1978 film. It's the godfather of the slasher genre - a lot of the tropes of the genre started with Halloween - and its the film that Sean Cunningham openly admits to ripping off when he made the very first Friday the 13th....... but being an obsessed fan of the series as i am, i'll give you the basic and honest gist of each film so you can get the idea of maybe which ones you want to see - no spoilers, i promise....
Halloween (1978) - It's THE classic when it comes to slasher films, and it's my personal favorite horror movie ever made. By today's standards it might seem a bit tired and slow - but thats because most modern horror audiences can't appreciate the slow burn in the beginning of this film. It begins with a good kill, then slows back down a bit to introduce you to the characters... but the tension slowly builds and builds as Michael gets closer and closer to his victims - and the whole time, Donald Pleasence plays Michael's Psychiatrist who knows how dangerous Michael is, and is trying to stop him...... to you, or anyone who has not seen it - do yourself a favor this Halloween and go rent it or borrow it from a friend and put it on after all the kiddies have finished trick or treating.... the film is good enough to watch whenever - but you get the best vibe watching it on Halloween night. :)
Halloween II (1981) - A very well made sequel - it takes place on the same night after the events of the first film... it very keeps the same look and feel of the original film, except they upped the blood and body count this time around - there are a couple really nice grisly kills in this - one involves a hot tub, and another involves a hypodermic needle..... i wont tell you anything else :) .......the only gripe i have with this one, is that in the original movie Michael moves pretty normal - like a regular person... in this one, his movement is very stiff, and he walks around like a robot... and from this film on, almost every actor who plays Michael duplicates the same slow mechanical movements.
Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982) - This movie gets universally panned by critics and most horror fans because it does not have Michael Myers in it, nor does it even have any connection to the first two films at all...... quick backstory..... John Carpenter and Debra Hill (the two writers and creators of Halloween) wanted to be done with Michael Myers, and they wanted to turn the franchise into an anthology series (ie: The Twilight Zone).. each new film would be a new story of something horrific happening on Halloween - this film revolves around a Doctor who starts to uncover this weird mystery around a crazy millionaire Halloween mask and toy maker who wants to kill every child on Halloween - as a sacrifice to the old celtic gods............... quite honestly, if you can view this movie as it's own thing, and not with the Michael Myers blinders on - it's quite a good and creepy film... the cinematography is excellent, and the soundtrack is quite excellent as well... it's a shame this movie wasn't retitled as something else, as it probably would've been better received than it was when it was released in 1982.. but it has gained quite a cult following since, and it seems people are now starting to appreciate the film for what it is.
Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988) - Michael Myers is back!.. this time though he isn't after Laurie Strode.. he's after her 7 year old daughter - his niece... out of all the sequels past Halloween II, this one is probably the best. Young Danielle Harris in this movie as Jamie Lloyd does such a tremendous job.. she is not the annoying little kid(s) you hate in most horror films, quite the opposite - right from the beginning you feel sympathetic towards her - and that gets even heightened as Michael starts stalking her.. equally as good in this movie is Ellie Cornell who plays the older adopted sister of Jamie Lloyd, Rachel... the chemistry between her and Jamie throughout the film is really good - and their relationship as sisters is very believable - and Beau Starr as Sheriff Meeker is a bad ass, that's all i'll say lol....... my only real problems with the movie is that Dr. Loomis this time seems almost crazier than Michael Myers - and Michael's mask is really really weird looking..
Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989) - released just a year later, this film follows the events of Halloween 4, and picks up the following year.. i wont comment too much more about the plot than that because it spoils some things from the previous movie.... but the quick turn around on this film really shows.. the writing is all over the place, new things get introduced in this film that never pay off - nor do they have any real meaning or significance to the plot... Danielle Harris once again shines as Jamie Lloyd, but the character of Tina is very very VERY annoying, as are her friends.. if you watch the movie you'll see why.... the final showdown in the Myers house is probably this film's saving grace..... overall, this movie isn't terrible - there are good moments in it and some decent kills - but it was rushed.. and at the end of the day that rush job effected the quality of this film.
Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995) - 6 years after Halloween 5, this film sets out to answer all the open ended questions left over from the previous film... It does present an interesting concept - but it's so convoluted, that the plot ends up falling flat on it's face... More or less, the movie is about a mysterious Celtic Cult who may have orchestrated Michael's evil ways from the very beginning - and that he is more or less a puppet for their devious plans...... it's really an exercise to try and explain this plot without laughing.... There aren't really any highlights in this movie in regards to it's story - there are a few really brutal kills in this film, but thats about it.... the climax of this film could've been so much better than it was - but they really whizzed this one down their leg... such a sad effort, especially after 6 years.
Halloween H20 (1998) - okay remember all that stuff from parts 4, 5, and 6??... well throw that out the window, because this film hits the reset button on all of that and takes place as if those films never happened - only the events of the first 2 films exist in the plot of this one..... here we are back with Laurie Strode, who years ago apparently faked her death, changed her name to Keri Tate and is now the Head Mistress at a private California High School - but she is still haunted by visions and dreams of what happened on that Halloween night in 1978..... but Michael soon shows up, not only to kill her, but her 17 year old son...... okay, this movie does a good job at bridging the gap between part 2 and this film, and Jamie Lee Curtis really does shine once again as Laurie Strode.... but the very best part of this film (IMO) is the very beginning, which does not feature any of the main characters at all... in fact, it involves a nurse (who was a caretaker of the now deceased Dr. Loomis) who find her house broken in to - and stuff ensues from that point on...... IMO, the director Steve Miner (from Friday the 13th fame) does an 'okay' job - but the movie feels a little too much in the vein of 'Scream' or as i liked to call it, a WB show with Michael Myers added in.... you'll also notice that the look of Michael's mask changes A LOT in this movie, and at one point it's even a horrendous CGI mask - not exaggerating either.. it's CGI, and it looks bad....... IMO, this is one film that had loads of potential to be great, but it kind of leaves you feeling lukewarm by the end..
Halloween: Resurrection (2002) - the worst film in the franchise...... there isn't much to be said other than that. You read my above assessment of the film. It's dumb - stupid - and there isn't one redeeming quality about the movie... It picks up a few years after the events of H20... Busta Rhymes is the head of an internet entertainment company who locks 6 college kids in the old deserted Myers House for 24 hours - and the whole thing is being recorded by cameras setup all through the house, and even by cameras attached to the college kids themselves, and they have to "unravel the mysteries of the Myers House"..... if you've ever seen the MTV show 'Fear' - it's very much a Michael Myers version of that.... now, the film toys with an interesting concept about our voyeuristic society - in terms of reality television and such.... but that very interesting concept and idea gets shat down the toilet - it's briefly mentioned, then never brought up again...... ugh.... i hate talking about this movie because it's just bad - now, granted, there is a very funny scene in the movie in which Busta Rhymes dressed up as Michael Myers is confronted by the real Michael Myers.. you can probably just youtube that scene and save yourself the agony of watching the entire film to get to that part.
Halloween (2007) - after 5 years, Rob Zombie is handed the reigns of the franchise, and gets to put his own stamp on the film series.. and instead of making another sequel, he opted to do a remake/retelling of the original movie... i say that because it's not a straight up remake. He expounds greatly on Michael as a child and Michael's time as a patient at Smith's Grove Sanitarium - which is arguably the best parts of the movie.... Zombie does a great job of taking parts of the original film and blending them into his own story - at times though, those moments feel shoehorned in just for the sake of having them in there, because thats what was expected.... the real star of this film is Daeg Faerch (who plays young Michael).. he is outstanding and i really wish would've gotten a full film with just him as little Michael Myers... Brad Dourif and Malcolm McDowell turn in terrific performances as well in their respective roles as Sheriff Brackett and Dr. Loomis.... out of all the recent slasher remakes that came out within the past 10 years, I really think this is the best... Zombie's vision can't be matched by any of the others.
Halloween II (2008) - this is a film that you'll either like, or you'll hate... it's very polarizing..... I really like it, but I firmly recognize that it has a bunch of flaws.... as is tradition, this film picks right after the events of the last film before fast-forwarding to 2 years later... in this film Laurie Strode is being driven crazy from the events of the previous films - she's addicted to meds and see's a psychiatrist on a regular basis... Michael Myers, who has disappeared after the events of the first film starts his way back to Haddonfield to once again "reunite" with his sister on Halloween night..... Zombie really ramps up his artistic vision in this film - gone is the traditional Halloween music - gone are the shackles and constraints of the remake - here Zombie really gets to paint his own unique picture of a Halloween film... while the plot is ambitious, and i do give him a lot of credit to try and make a very psychological horror film - it really does fall well short of that........ now, i did read that a lot this had to with the producers rushing Rob through the writing process - he wanted an extra year to really write and hammer the story out, but the producers and the studio wanted the film out in 2008. - and you get that sense during the film, that the plot is almost there.. but not quite.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Wow, very gritty movie. The atmosphere and cinematography are very glim, dark, 'dirty', which makes the viewing tense and uncomfortable. I didn't find it very gory but it was quite a scary movie. Some parts of the soundtrack made my stomach hurt :P
Yes, the movie is extremely effective. I can't help but wonder how audiences reacted to it back in the 1970's.
Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll watch the rest of them at some point.
Well, it seems the same change of style as OHMSS to DAF. For the first 30 minutes I thought I was watching some comedy movie :P It did get a bit better during the radio station attack and the whole cave sequence, but quite a letdown from the 1st outing. Dennis Hopper was pretty entertaining.
Well I guess I have to give them credit for trying something new. It's no traditional sequel that's for sure
Did you know the girl who plays Stretch (who has legs that rival Carey Lowell) has an unaccredited cameo in part III as a reporter in the beginning? Also a more well-know cameo in Rob Zombie's H2
My favourite Cronenberg film; body horror at its best! James Woods is incredibly effective in this weird philosophical meltdown of the barriers between reality and television fiction. The effects are superb, thank you Rick Baker.
This may surprise you, @DaltonCraig007, but Hooper actually considers his first TCM to be the "comedic" one. At least in the sense of parodying America's hypocrisy when dealing with meat. Everyone loves their hamburger but nobody wants to know where the hamburger comes from or how it's made. Leatherface is the silly mother character, going through the abysmal daily routine of compiling something seemingly edible from the goriest and most disgusting sources. I must confess that I think of the first film as anything but comedic but I understand Hooper's vision a little bit.
TCM 2 is my least favourite in the series. Yes, I proudly admit that I enjoy Leatherface and The Next Generation more even if both films are pretty dumb. At least Ken Foree is very entertaining in Leatherface and The Next Generation, while overall just silly, is still less silly IMO than TCM 2. The only thing about TCM 2 that I like is Bill Moseley.