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Species II (1998) Directed by Peter Medak

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 10:07 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 3 January 2009)

Well, at least this movie was better than the first. This is because of the simple reason that this movie is so entertaining to watch. It doesn't try to impress but it just brings some simple and good B-movie horror fun!

It must be also due to the movie its settings that this movie is such a fun one to watch. The entire movie is set at an amusement park.

The Ghoulies are more like Gremlins in this movie. In the first movie they were only walking around without serving a real purpose. In this movie they are the heart and soul of the entire picture. They are causing some mayhem and each and every Ghoulie has a distinctive character of its own.

It's a good thing the movie doesn't take itself too serious. It gives the movie a good campy feel and look over it. The movie is often being plain silly and it doesn't try to make sense or create a believable story. Something that the first "Ghoulies" movie didn't do. So really, this movie is surprisingly better and much more watchable than its predecessor.

Perhaps the movie is being a bit too silly and not serious enough at times. This really goes at the expense of the movie its horror. I feel that as if this movie would had been more effective with its horror as well, this movie would had been an even better one to watch. The movie doesn't really have any scares or gore in it.

Of course nothing of this movie really impresses. The acting and story-line are all weak and kept thin. Perhaps you have to be really into the genre to appreciate and enjoy this movie simply for what it is; some simple, fun entertainment!

5/10

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Salem's Lot (1979) (TV) Directed by Tobe Hooper

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 4:57 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , , ,

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(Review originally written at 5 November 2008)

This review is of the longest available 184 minutes uncut version.
Being not the biggest fan of movies based on Stephen King novels, I must say that this movie was a rather good one within its genre. Especially when considering that this movie got made as a made for TV mini-series. This means that the movie is not as gory as other genre movies from the same time period but this doesn't mean that the movie isn't just as atmospheric and scary than any other movie.
The movie has a great atmosphere that is both mysterious and scary. Even though not a whole lot is happening within the movie, it still knows to be constantly perfectly atmospheric. Tobe Hooper is of course really a director who understand the genre (at least in the '70's he still did) and he directs the movie with lots of class and knowhow.
It's a quite original vampire movie. To be honest, in advance I even had no idea that this movie was going to be a vampire movie, while first watching it. I had heard about the title "Salem's Lot" and also about the Stephen King novel but in all honesty I had no idea what it was all about. In that regard the movie pleasantly surprised me with its concept and the overall handling of it.
But also it needs to be said that the movie isn't exactly the genre masterpiece some people make it out to be. It's way too flawed for that. For instance the pace. Well, I've watched the longest available 3 hour+ version, so perhaps it has something to do with that but the movie has a bit of a slow pace and has lots of points within the movie in which just basically nothing is ever happening. Also when looking back at it, the first hour of the movie or so seems pretty pointless afterward. Also some characters just come and go within the movie. The first halve of the movie is still mostly about the citizens of Salem's Lot, while the second halve is only mainly about the main character Ben Mears. Seems like all other characters are just simply being forgotten and abandoned within the script, without reaching a satisfying conclusion for them. A shame really, also since a lot of characters showed some good potential. Some characters are some typical good trademark quirky Stephen King type of character.
You could say that the movie is only truly good once the horror starts to kick in. The movie is effective with its horror and has a couple of memorable moments in it.
It's also made great by the musical score from Harry Sukman. It's a real great genre score and also quite well known in the horror circles, which is of course quite an accomplishment for a score composed for a TV mini-series. It was the last musical score he ever composed as well. He didn't died until 5 years later, so I guess he thought it was time to enjoy his retirement after finishing the score for this production. A great way to end his career!
A surprising good genre movie, once its horror kicks in, that also deserves some more recognition.
7/10


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Crimson Tide (1995) Directed by Tony Scott

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 11:45 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,




(Review originally written at 11 February 2007)

 "Crimson Tide" is a movie that has grown onto me in the last couple of years. The movie had never been really any of my favorites, I never really cared much about the story and never thought the movie was tense enough for a thriller, in which never enough happened. This has changed the recent years. I now see how relevant the movie is and I am able to appreciate what the movie tries to tell and of course also the performances from actors Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, which already is reason enough to watch the movie.

 Mutiny occurs on a nuclear submarine when the captain and his Lt. Commander disagree about firing a nuclear missile on the Russians, when the launch message is received, followed by an incomplete followup. Hackman is legally, by the Navel rules right, while Washington is morally right. So both are right in a way but you can't help routing for Denzel Washington, since Gene Hackman just basically plays a mean old piece of...Not that I mind though. It keeps the movie totally great and interesting to watch, since Washington and Hackman are just great in every sequences that they're together in. There always is a constant tension between them. They're different characters with different opinions and they perhaps never really liked each other but yet they always respect each other, right till the end. It provides the movie with some really effective and memorable moments.

 The movie is filled with many more big names in it, of who most were still fairly unknown actors at the time, such as Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Rick Schroder before his "NYPD Blue" period and Ryan Phillippe among others. So a real good job on the casting here, since it also features some already at the time established actors, that really all fit their roles really well.

 But lets face it. How much tense and interesting can be going on in a movie set almost entirely in a submarine. The movie does a good job at keeping the movie always interesting to watch, despite its subject and settings, mainly thanks to a high pace. It keeps the movie surprisingly tense and provides the movie with a constant atmosphere of tension. The story itself is quite interesting and thought provoking, once you start thinking about it how much power a submarine captain actually has (had) and how he can unleash a nuclear war with the push of a button. They try to also put some sequences in it with deeper meanings and layers and it certainly provides the movie with some memorable moments but the pace it is too high to actually allow you to absorb things and think about it. The movie also starts to repeat itself after a while. It also features far too many technical details that the viewers just don't understand and only work distracting from the true story and atmosphere of the movie. It really doesn't make the "Crimson Tide" the best, or most tense, movie ever written, though its premise is really more than great thriller material. I can understand that they hired other writers (Robert Towne, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Zaillian) the spice up the movie a little, by putting in some more dialog, character development and deeper meanings. Yet the movie really doesn't feel as if it had been written and re-written by different writers. I think that we can also thank director Tony Scott for that, who provides the movie with one overall consistent fast style and atmosphere.

 Some of the things that really make this movie better than just your average submarine movie is the very lively cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and the suiting musical score by Hans Zimmer, that works very effective and powerful for some of the sequences. In a way this movie also was his big Hollywood breakthrough, though he had composed some successful Hollywood scores before. Both really lift the movie to an higher level.

 Not an essential viewing (though perhaps it are Washington and Hackman that still make the movie one) but nevertheless a movie worth seeing if you can appreciate a well constructed movie, set almost entirely aboard a submarine.

 7/10

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