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claudio_carvalho
I will no longer write in IMDb. If you want to read my reviews in Portuguese or English, or contact me, visit my Blog dos Maníacos por Filme (see the link below). IMDb has become unbearable. Actually, is an asshole that declines and deletes my reviews.
Inclusive this person has blocked me in IMDb Community.
It seems that there is no supervision in IMDb and any asshole that has a beef with an user may decline or delete his submissions without any reason.
Visit my blog:
https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/
I would like to thank you my readers and followers.
Bio
My hobby is watching and collecting movies on VHS and DVD. On 17 June 2003, I found the IMDB site through an indication of a friend. My first review was " Anazapta" and since then, when I finish watching (or re-watching) a movie, I write my personal opinion about it.
I am eclectic, but my genre number 1 is horror. I see between 800 and 900 movies per year, including TV series.
My favorite movie is "Casablanca" and it is hard to point out my favorite director, actor and actress. I usually do not read any review before seeing a movie, in order to be not influenced by the critics.
I am trying to list my favorite movies alphabetically ordered, but this list may change:
- 1984;
- Abre los Ojos;
- All About Eve;
- American Yakuza;
- An Affair to Remember;
- EL Angel Exterminador;
- The Apartment;
- Apocalypse Now;
- Atonement;
- Babel;
- La Battaglia di Algeri;
- Blade Runner;
- Blowup;
- Blue Velvet;
- Body Heat;
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas;
- Borat;
- Casablanca;
- Clockwork Orange, A;
- Dance of the Vampires;
- Dangerous Beauty;
- Day Earth Stood Still, The;
- Diaboliques, Les;
- Doctor Zhivago;
- Double Indemnity;
- Easy Rider;
- Le Fabuleux Destin d'Am�lie Poulain
- The Fly (1958);
- Ghost;
- Ghost Story (1981);
- La Guerre du Feu;
- Hair;
- Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison;
- Heavenly Creatures;
- Hidden, The;
- Hunger, The
- Illusionist, The;
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956);
- It's a Wonderful Life;
- Jacob's Ladder;
- J�i-uchi: Hairy� Tsuma Shimatsu ("Samurai Rebellion");
- Joshua;
- Joyeux No�l;
- Laberinto del Fauno, El;
- Lawrence of Arabia;
- Logan's Run;
- Lost (only the first four seasons);
- Love Affair;
- Manhattan;
- Matrix;
- May;
- Midnight Express;
- Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die;
- Night of the Living Dead;
- Note on a Scandal;
- Once Upon a Time in America;
- Phantom of the Paradise;
- Plein soleil;
- Pretty Woman;
- Pride & Prejudice;
- Qian li zou dan qi / Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles;
- Rachel and the Stranger;
- Du Rififi Chez les Hommes;
- Roaring Twenties, The;
- Rocky Horror Picture Show;
- Rosemary's Baby;
- Sea of Love;
- Senso;
- Sentinel, The (1977);
- Serpent�s Egg, The;
- Shichinin no samurai ("Seven Samurais");
- Shinning, The;
- Sjunde inseglet, Det ("The Seventh Seal");
- Soldier Blue;
- Someone to Watch Over Me;
- Something Wild;
- Sound of Music, The;
- Sunset Boulevard;
- Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo ("A Irmandade da Guerra");
- Tasogare Seibei ("O Samurai do Entardecer")
- The Thing;
- Tropa de Elite;
- To Sir With Love;
- Total Recall;
- Tristan + Isolde;
- True Lies;
- V for Vendetta;
- Wu ji (The Promise);
- X-Files.
I would like to thank the votes and e-mails of many users of IMDb.
THESE DAYS...
Presently (2023), I am very disappointed with IMDb, since my honest review of one episode of The Last of Us is being deleted or declined by the presente IMDb Editors.
I really regret to use this site on the present days, that accept one-line reviews and delete honest reviews.
Maybe that is why many old fellow-reviewers from IMDB left this site for good.
All reviews that I write nowadays are declined first and only later they are accepted, without any modification.
Probably I will stop submiting anything to this site (Reviews, Synopsis, Corrections etc.)
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Project Eden (2017)
Was It Supposed to Be the Pilot of a Series?
When Evelyn Green (Emily Fradenburgh) is three-month-pregnant, she receives a letter from the American government informing that her husband Adam died in the war. She delivers the baby Thomas, who is catatonic and has been interned for six years. The doctors tell her that Thomas will not recover and suggest that he should be submitted to a euthanasia. Out of the blue, Evelyn is visited by a stranger, Ethan Varick (Peter Christian Hansen) , who tells her that he had a daughter with the same disorder and the government killed his wife and daughter. Further, he tells her that two men posing as FBI Agents will look for her on the next morning, and that he will be in a place in town waiting for her. In the morning, agent David Roth (Mike Dopud) and his partner come to Evelyn's home and snoop around looking for Ethan. She flees and meets Ethan, and together they find evidence of a man in the north of the country that might have information about the conspiracy of the government involving Thomas. But the relentless David Roth is chasing them down and will not give up.
"Project Eden" is a movie with a promising story about government conspiracy most of the time. Suddenly, when Evelyn faints, it becomes a mess and changes the genre with a great confusion. Further, there is no ending of the story, and the viewer is disappointed to see a film without conclusion. Was it supposed to be the pilot of a series? My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Projeto Eden" ("Project Eden")
Retroactive (1997)
Changing the Past
The psychologist and police negotiator of Chicago P. D. Karen (Kylie Travis) fails in a hostage situation and six captives are murdered. She quits the police and decides to return to her hometown in Texas. While driving on the road, she has a car accident and the radiator of her car breaks. She asks for a ride and the criminal Frank (James Belushi) stops his car with his wife Rayanne (Shannon Whirry) to take her to a nearby gas station that has a tow truck. Along the short journey, Frank, who is selling a computer chip that he has just stolen from a friend, shows that is a lowlife, humiliating his wife several times. Meanwhile, the young scientist Brian (Frank Whaley) is researching time travel in a facility in the desert with rats using a particle accelerator. When Frank reaches the gas station of his friend Sam (M. Emmet Walsh), he shows him photos of Rayanne having an affair with their acquaintance Jesse (Jesse Borrego). Frank becomes insane and speed-up his car with Rayanne and Karen inside and stops the car in the desert, He kills Rayanne and Karen runs to Brian's facility, where she is exposed to his device and returns in time. Now she wants to change the events to save the life of Rayanne. Will she succeed?
"Retroactive" is an entertaining and funny film, with a story of time travel that uses the idea of "12:01" (1993) and "Groundhog Day" (1993). James Belushi performs an obnoxious scum and abusive husband, treating badly his wife. Karen learns that every time that she travels to the past, the situation gets worst, and she is uncapable to change the past. But how Karen, who worked in the police department, could miss so many shoots and not hit her target? The relationship of Frank and Brian is weird since they live in different worlds. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Inferno na Estrada" ("Hell on the Road")
Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever (2005)
The Witness Protection
While waiting for Julie in Natalie's car, Monk witnesses a criminal killing a man in an alley. The FBI sends him to the Witness Protection Program with Agent Grooms, Stottlemeyer and Natalies in a cabin in the woods since he will testify in court against the killer. They stop at a shop to buy supplies and Monk meets Martin Willowby, who will fish in a lake, and his wife Kathy, who loves country music. During the night, Monk listens a cry for help and is sure that Kathy killed Martin. Meanwhile, Randy meets the gorgeous Hailey, and they have lunch in a Chinese restaurant where Hailey used to go with her grandfather. Their fortune cookies seem to be correct, and they return on the next day to check. Again, their fortune cookies are right, and they return to the restaurant again. When Randy reads that a friend is in danger, he drives to the secret FBI cabin to see Monk but is followed by the hitmen, endangering all his friends.
"Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever" is another great episode of this series. The clumsy Monk with his COD trying to fix the antenna of a car is predictable, but funny. His phobias are annoying many times since he is an intelligent man. The naive Randy is tricked again and jeopardizes his friends. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Monk Vai à Floresta" ("Monk Goes to the Forest")
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
The Price of the Success
In 1971, in Chicago, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is the host of the late-night talk show "Night Owls". His marriage with the former theater actress Madeleine "Minnie" Piper (Georgina Haig) is an example of a successful marriage and commented by the media. In 1972, Jack signs a five-year contract with the owner of the television, Walker Bedford (John O'May), and intends to be the number one in the ratings, beating Johnny Carson show. He also joins the notorious and exclusive club "The Groove", where careers are made or destroyed. However, soon Minnie learns that has a terminal lung cancer and dies. In the Halloween of the 1977, Jack Delroy hosts a special show, interviewing the medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi); the skeptical magician Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss); and the parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who has just released a book about the demoniac possession of her protégé Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli). Lilly was the only survivor of a cult and claims that the demon "Mr. Wriggles" lives in her body. June tries to stop her presentation, but Jack convinces her to conjure Mr. Wriggles to the audience. From this moment on, strange supernatural things happen in the studio.
"Late Night with the Devil" is one of the most originals stories based on Faust. Jack Delroy forgets what he did in the past to be successful and now has a price to pay. This low budget movie shows that with good story, screenplay and cast it is possible to make a great film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Entrevista com o Demònio" ("Interview with the Demon")
Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994)
Delightful Supernatural Romance
The rebel demoness Veronica (Angela Featherstone) has another argument with her father Hellikin (Nicholas Worth) since she wants to live among the humans on the world above. Hellikin tries to kill her and Veronica escapes from Hell with her beast through a secret passage that her friend Mary (Cristina Stoica) had shown her. Veronica becomes human, finds some clothes and sees Dr. Max Barris (Daniel Markel) in the window of the hospital. Out of the blue, she is hit by a car and Dr. Max treats her. He learns that she has nowhere to go and offers his house to Veronica stay. She watches the news on television and learns how evil the world is and that the Mayor Wharton (Milton James) is a corrupt man. While walking on the street at night, she sees two men trying to rape a woman, kills them and her beast eats part of their flesh. Then she kills two violent Caucasian police officers that were beating without any reason a black man, leaves a message to the mayor and brings an internal organ to her beast. The detectives that are investigating the cases suspect that Veronica is responsible for the murders and follow her until she shows one of them the horrors of Hell. But Max and Veronica have fallen in love with each other.
"Dark Angel: The Ascent" is a delightful supernatural romance from the 90's that has not aged. The funny plot is excellent, with the rebellious Veronica stealing the movie. The beauty of Angela Featherstone is another attraction of his low-budget movie. There are great scenes and funny dialogs. Unfortunately, has only been released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Anjo das Trevas" ("Angel of the Darkness")
Monk: Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra (2005)
The Kung-fu Star
The author of a polemic biographic book of the star The Cobra, John Ricca, goes to a talk show and tells the audience that Cobra's fights were performed by stunts, making the fans angry with him. During the night, a ninja kills him and leaves his San Tie Kan behind. Stottlemeyer calls Monk to help in the investigation since the hair they found in the crime scene belongs to Sonny "The Cobra" Shaw, who died six years ago. Meanwhile, Monk and Natalie are having problems in their relationship since Monk does not want to reimburse her expenses in gasoline, cellphone and tissues. Randy is a big fan of Cobra and tells that there is a rumor that Sonny Chaw is not dead. Stottlemeyer requests exhumation of Sonny's body while Monk talks to the master of martial arts and Cobra's mentor, Master Zi, that confirms that Sonny Chaw is dead. Monk and Natalie go to the Cobra's Museum and to the cemetery, and after the exhumation, Monk solves the case. But the killer attacks and buries him in a coffin.
"Mr. Monk vs. The Cobra" is the first episode where Natalie works as Monk's assistant and substitute for Sharona. The beginning is silly, with Monk refusing to reimburse her expenses, but the case and its resolution is good. The encounter of Monk and Trudy is the romantic part of the show. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Monk Enfrenta o Cobra" ("Monk Faces The Cobra")
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Red Herring (2005)
The Lunar Rock
Sharona leaves Monk to live with Benji in New Jersey with her ex-husband and Monk is looking for a new nurse. Meanwhile, the widow Natalie Teeger kills a trespasser that breaks in her house during the night. She tells Stottlemeyer and Randy that another man tried to break in her house a couple of days ago. Stottlemeyer suggests her to convince Monk to work in the case, and she goes to his house. He reluctantly accepts the case and notes that the thief apparently was trying to steal her daughter's goldfish. They investigate and learn that the fish worths one dollar only and Monk cannot find the motive. They go to the police station and learn that the thief might be connected to an exposition in the museum and Natalie tells them that her daughter Julie was in that exhibition a couple of days ago and bought some toys to her aquarium. They go to the museum and soon Monk resolves the case.
"Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" is a great episode of this series and the end of Sharona with Monk. That is sad since Sharona was an important part of the episodes. "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" is the introduction of her replacement, Natalie Teeger, who seems to be adequate for the role. This episode is great since Monk does not overact with his OCDs. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Monk e o Peixe Japonês" ("Monk and the Japanese Fish")
Note: In Portuguese, goldfish is called Japanese Fish.
Nightfall (1988)
The Planet with Three Suns
In a planet with three suns, there is permanent daylight and a primitive civilization. The blind prophet and leader Sor (Alexis Kanner) fears part of his people, the superstitious Believers, foreseeing that a nightfall is coming with tragic consequences. Roa (Sarah Douglas), the wife of the astronomer and leader Aton (David Birney), leaves her husband to join Sor. Aton meets the nomad Ana (Andra Millian) and quits his work to stay with her. Out of the blue, his followers abduct Anna and take her to the desert. Aton returns to his telescope and finds that Sor is correct, and a nightfall is coming. Meanwhile Sor blinds Roa using two crows to eat her eyes while Aton sends his son-in-law Kin (Charles Hayward) to look for Ana and bring her back to the village. He also teams-up with the local architect (Jonathan Emerson) to build a shelter to his people to be protected from the nightfall. Kin meets the free-spirited Ana in the desert and they have sex, but Ana returns to Aton. However, Kin's wife and Aton's daughter Bet (Starr Andreeff) feels that her husband has betrayed her and becomes jealous. Aton finds that Sor has blinded Roa and becomes angry with him while Kin falls in love with Ana. The clash of science and superstition and all the other events bring several tragedies during the nightfall.
"Nightfall" (1988) is a low-budget sci-fi movie by Paul Mayersberg based on a short story by Isaac Asimov. Hated by the critics and with an awful reception from the viewers since the plot seems to be not faithful to Asimov's short story, "Nightfall" is not so bad and provides a good view of the eternal fight between science and religion (or superstition). The cast has good names and several subplots, most of them well-resolved. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Planeta Infernal" ("Hellish Planet")
Satan's School for Lust (2002)
Soft Porn with Hot Women
In Diablo School for women, Kelly Porter (Zoe Moonshine) is having sex with her boyfriend when they are surprised and killed by a masked person. The father of Primula Cooper (Misty Mundae) travels overseas and enrolls her in the Diablo School. She meets the headmistress Miss Beezle (Barbara Joyce), who asks her to share the room of the lesbian Phoenix (Ruby LaRocca). Meanwhile the investigative reporter Linda Forest (Suzi Lorraine) tells her boyfriend Charlie that several students are vanishing from the school, and she heads to interview Miss Beezle. But soon she is in trouble, abducted by the headmistress, while Primula has dreadful and erotic nightmares.
"Satan's School for Lust" is a soft porn movie and a kind of low-budget spoofy of "Satan's School for Girls". There is no plot, basically motive for sex scenes, most of them erotic lesbian scenes. The good part of this movie is basically the hot women, especially the gorgeous Misty Mundae, a.k.a. Erin Brown. In accordance with information on the Internet, Lust is an anagram of Slut and would be the original title of this flick ("Satan's School for Sluts"). My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): Not Available.
Phantom Lady (1944)
The Vanished Lady
In New York, a lonely woman (Fay Helm) is drinking alone and listening to a song in a jukebox. A man (Alan Curtis) sits next to her at the counter and offers two tickets of a Broadway show to her, but she does not accept. Then he invites her to go with him and she says yes, provided they do not know anything about the other including their names. The man pays the bill to the bartender (Andrew Tombes), takes a taxi and goes to the show, where the drummer Cliff (Elisha Cook Jr.) looks at her along the show and the performer Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda) is irritated since the woman is wearing a hat identical to hers. When the man, the engineer Scott Henderson, arrives home, Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) and two detectives are waiting for him. He learns that his wife Marcella was murdered strangled by a tie, and he is the main suspect. Scott explains that he spent the night with the mysterious woman, but neither the bartender and the taxi driver nor the drummer and the performer confirm his alibi saying that they did not see any woman. He is arrested and the court sentences him to the electric chair. His secretary, Carol "Kansas" Richman (Ella Raines), who is secretly infatuated with Scott, is the only person that visits him since his best friend John "Jack" Marlow (Franchot Tone) traveled to Brazil by ship on the night Marcella was killed. Kansas decides to investigate the case by herself, and Inspector Burgess offers to help her since he believes Scott is innocent. Soon she learns that people have been bribed by the killer, but they die before his alibi can be proved. Meanwhile Jack returns and joins Kansas and Burgess in the investigation.
"Phantom Lady" (1944) is one of the best film-noir ever made, with an engaging story of injustice and perseverance. The only but is the identity of the killer that should have been disclosed only in the very end, and not when he kills Cliff. But anyway, it is a wonderful film with the impressive beauty of Ella Raines highlight on the black-and-white screen. The performance is magnificent and steals the movie. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "A Dama Fantasma" ("The Phantom Lady")
Atlas (2024)
Histrionic Performance
In the future, there is a rebellion of the Artificial Intelligence led by the terrorist A. I. Harlan (Simu Liu), and consequently a war where three-million humans are killed. In the end, Harlan flees to an unknown whereabouts in the outer space. When his right-arm Casca Decius (Abraham Popoola) is located on Earth and captured by the military forces, General Jake Boothe (Mark Strong) brings the analyst Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez) to interrogate Casca under the protest of Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown). She succeeds to learn the planet where Harlan is and destroy Casca. She asks Gen. Boothe to go with Col. Banks in the mission of capturing Harlan's CPU since her mother, the scientist Val Shepherd (Lana Parrilla), created it and she was raised with Harlan. However, her distrust of A. I., her unstable behavior and the fact that she is not a Ranger make Col. Banks objects in principle, but he accepts her expertise later. When they arrive nearby the planet where Harlan is hidden, their spacecraft is attacked by Harlan's army and Atlas is forced to enter in an ARC to escape. However, she does not link with the A. I. "Smith" although she does not know how to operate the weapons and the A. I. needs her link to operate properly. Soon Col. Banks learns that Atlas has a childhood trauma that impedes her to trust A. I.s. What will she do to try to save Earth?
"Atlas" is a Netflix movie with the story of a dystopian future after a war between humans and A. I.'s. There are good points, like the special effects and the view of the A. I.'s as evil or good like the mankind. Unfortunately, the histrionic performance of Jennifer Lopez is annoying and disappoints her fans. The director should have controlled her constant screams and overacting, despite her character be unstable and anti-social. The plot is satisfactory with a reasonable but with potential story with a rushed beginning as usual in Netflix's movies. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Atlas"
La sociedad de la nieve (2023)
Unnecessary Remake
In 1972, the Uruguayan rugby team is flying to Chile to play a game. However, the plane from the Uruguayan Air Force with 45 persons crashes on the Andes Mountains and after the search party, they are considered dead. Two months after the crash, the sixteen survivors are finally rescued. Along the days, the starved survivors decide to eat flesh from the bodies of their comrades to survive.
The above summary is copy-paste from my summary of "Alive" (1993) in IMDb, since this remake is absolutely unnecessary. "La sociedad de la nieve", a.k.a." Society of the Snow" is a great film, but the impact of the timeless "Alive" in the 90's was impressive. Based on a true event - the crash of a plane on the Andes in 1972, both screenplays are alike and very well written, considering the dramatic and sensitive theme, the environment and is respectful with the survivors. The performances are top-notch and the special effects are excellent. The fight for survival of this group is amazing and shows what the man is capable to do in extreme situations. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "A Sociedade da Neve" ("The Society of the Snow")
The Mortuary Collection (2019)
Getting a New Job
The mortician Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown) runs the Raven's End Mortuary. After the services of the little Logan, a young woman named Sam (Caitlin Fisher) shows interest in the closed casket and tells Montgomery that she is responding to the sign "Help Wanted" on the outside of the mortuary. When she sees several books in the library, Montgomery says that life is made of stories, and she asks him to tell a story to her and he accepts the request. The first story in the 50's, is about a young woman named Emma (Christine Kilmer), who pickpockets wallets during a party. When she goes to the restroom to get rid of the wallets, she sees a medicine cabinet and decides to open it, finding a dreadful surprise. The second story in the 60's is about a handsome young man, Jake, who distributes condoms on the campus of his university with a speech of sex liberation but intending to score women in the party of his fraternity. When he meets Sandra (Ema Horvath), she accepts the condom and goes to the party. They have sex along all the night, but Jake removes his condom, and she does not note it. On the next morning, Jake does not feel well and goes to Dr. Harold Kubler (Mike C. Nelson), who realizes that he is pregnant. Now he tries to contact Sandra to understand what is happening to him. The third story in the 60's is about a man, Wendell Owens (Barak Hardley), who married his beloved wife Carol (Sarah Hay). However, she became catatonic, and he is depressed taking care of his unresponsive wife for a long time and consequently having financial problems. Dr. Kubler gives painkillers to him and suggests that he could accidentally give an overdose to Carol since it is untraceable. When Wendell decides to give the pills to Carol, she grabs his arm, and he tries to make her throw them out. However, her head falls on the table and is impaled in a metallic object, forcing Wendell to get rid of the body. But he has a breakdown in the elevator. Sam tells Montgomery that his stories are predictable with the punishment of the sinners and decides to tell him a story about herself. Sam was babysitting a child named Logan Kubler while a patient flees from the local asylum. When she finds a wounded stranger in her kitchen, she fights him with a surprising revelation.
"The Mortuary Collection" is a great anthology of horror stories with many twists along the lead segment. Clancy Brown and his deep voice is excellent in the role of the storyteller mortician. Caitlin Fisher is also great with her surprising roles. The tales are highly entertaining, funny and also creepy. This film could be a pilot of a wonderful series of horror tales. The conclusion is magnificent, with the new mortician managing the Raven's End Mortuary. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): Not Available on TV, DVD or Blu-Ray.
The Keep (1983)
The Mystery of the Keep
In 1941, in Romenia, a German squad under the command of Capt. Woermann (Jürgen Prochnow) is assigned to protect a pass from a keep. Woermann notes that the fortress was built to prevent something to leave the interior and talks to the keeper Alexandru (Morgan Sheppard). He warns Woermann to not spend the night in the fortress and to not touch the crosses on the wall. However, two greedy soldiers decide to steal a silver cross, unleashing a smoke being and are murdered. When a fifth soldier is found dead in the keep, Woermann requests to be relocated with his men, but the SS Nazis under the command of the cruel Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) arrive instead. He immediately executes three villagers, believing there are partisans in the village. Woermann stops him and shows a message written on the wall of the fortress. Kaempffer brings the local Father Fonescu (Robert Prosky) to translate but he says that maybe Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen), who is in a concentration camp, is capable to translate. The sick Dr. Cuza is brought in a wheelchair with his daughter Eva Cuza (Alberta Watson) and says that the message is written in an ancient language that has been dead for five-hundred years. Meanwhile, a man in Greece named Glaeken (Scott Glenn), who seems to be possessed, travels by boat and motorcycle to the keep. What is the mystery of the keep?
"The Keep" is an unforgettable horror movie from 1983 by Michael Mann. The plot is intriguing and well-developed, with a magnificent cast with names such as Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne, Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen and Robert Prosky among others. The awesome locations and landscapes are another attraction. The music score by Tangerine Dream is another plus of this film. In Brazil, this movie was only released on VHS. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "A Fortaleza Infernal" ("The Hellish Fortress")
Full Eclipse (1993)
Underrated Movie
In Los Angeles, the LAPD Detectives Max Dire (Mario Van Peebles) and Jim "Jimmy" Sheldon (Anthony John Denison) are partners and friends. Max is married with Anna Dire (Victoria Rowell) and Jimmy intends to leave the force to marry his fiancée Helen (Jennifer Rubin). When there is a call in a club with three sadistic killers, Max and Jimmy breaks in through the ventilation ducts. However, one of the criminals hears a noise in the duct and shoots Jimmy, while Max kills them three. Jimmy is dying in the hospital when a man injects a serum and Jimmy mysteriously recovers and becomes powerful. When Jimmy commits suicide and Max has problems with his marriage with Anna, the high-ranking police officer Adam Garou (Bruce Payne) invites him to join his special force team formed by the decorated officers Casey Spencer (Patsy Kensit), Doug Crane (Jason Beghe), Liza (Paula Marshall) and Ramon Perez (John Verea). They invite Max to follow them in one assignment during the night and they inject a mysterious substance that makes them stronger and slaughter a gang of criminals. Max refuses to inject himself and to join the group of vigilantes, but later Casey shoots him, injects the serum and he instantaneous heal. Soon he finds that the substance is indeed extracted from Garou's brain, who is a werewolf.
"Full Eclipse" is an underrated movie in IMDB, with a great and different story of werewolf. The plot entwins police story with werewolf and is well-developed with a magnificent cast with names such as Patsy Kensit, Mario Van Peebles, Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Payne, Jason Beghe and many others. The gorgeous Patsy Kensit is incredibly beautiful and seductive in this movie. Surprisingly the IMDb User Rating is 5,4. The Brazilian title is awful. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Operação Nervos de Aço" ("Operation Steel Nerves")
Du forsvinder (2017)
Confused Screenplay
In Denmark, Frederik Halling (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is driving on a winding road with his wife Mia Halling (Trine Dyrholm) and their teenage son Nicklas (Sofus Rønnov). Out of the blue, Frederik speeds up his car and has a minor accident. When he stops the car on the shoulder, he falls off a cliff and needs to go to the hospital, where the doctor finds a brain tumor. He is submitted to a surgery and has the tumor removed. Frederik is the headmaster of the Saxtorph school where Mia teaches. Soon the owner of the school, Laust Saxtorph (Lars Knutzon), and the board learn that Frederik has embezzled a large amount from the school that will close the school. They go to the court to prosecute Frederik, and Mia hires her friend, Bernard Berman (Michael Nyqvist), to defend her husband. Bernard uses Frederik's change of behavior while having the brain tumor to justify his action while the prosecutor (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) tries to prove that the brain tumor is not the cause of his embezzlement. The life of the Halling family is exposed in the court.
"Du forsvinder", a.k.a, "You Disappear", is an interesting film with a great discussion about human behavior with the question: "Has the lead character's behavior been changed by a brain tumor, or does he still have free will?" However, the screenplay is a messy, with many subplots and flashbacks relative to the relationship of Frederik, Mia, Nicklas, Bernard and his wife Lærke. It seems that Mia was an alcoholic woman that has imagined her affair with Bernard, who is a loyal husband, but this part is confused. The cast is excellent, but Frederik Halling is an obnoxious character and is impossible the viewer feels charisma for him. This is also one of the last films of Michael Nyqvist, who unfortunately died of lung cancer in 2017. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Você Desapareceu" ("You Have Disappeared")
Monk: Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine (2004)
Another Terrible Episode
A police officer is arresting the biker Dewey Albert when Stottlemeyer and Randy arrive at the scene. Out of the blue, a car passes by and the driver shoots, hitting Stottlemeyer in the shoulder, gathering several police officers and Dewey flees in the havoc. Nearby, a woman committed suicide a couple of minutes before. Meanwhile, Dr. Kroger gives a new medicine to the reluctant Monk to reduce his CODs. When Sharona learns that Stottlemeyer was shot, she brings Monk to the hospital to visit his friend. Dewey is located and Stottlemeyer, Randy, Monk and Sharona leave the hospital meet the arresting team, but Monk fails and lets Dewey escape. He feels bad with the situation and decides to take Dr. Kroger's medication without reporting him as required. Soon he becomes an unpleasant idiot incapable to resolve the cases that may be connected.
"Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine" is another terrible episode of this series. Monk becomes an obnoxious character taking medicine without control and report to Dr. Kroger. His silly behavior is annoying, and the show irritates and is not funny. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Monk e Seu Remédio" ("Monk and His Medicine")
The Mutations (1974)
Strange Mutations
In London, the scientist and professor Dr. Nolter (Donald Pleasence) teaches his students that the evolution of the human species will be a mutation of animal and plant. The students Hedi (Julie Ege), Tony (Scott Antony) and her girlfriend Lauren (Jill Haworth) and Bridget (Olga Anthony) are best friend and are frequently together. There is a sideshow nearby the university and Bridget is kidnapped by a stranger and taken to Dr. Nolter's laboratory for research. His failed experiments are delivered to the deformed Lynch (Tom Baker) and sent to the sideshow to become attractions. Hedi, Tony and Lauren go to the airport to welcome Hedi's boyfriend, the American boyfriend Brian (Brad Harris) and they believe the missing Bridget is having a goodtime somewhere. Tony decides to investigate her disappearance and Lynch abducts him. He becomes the next guineapig of the deranged scientist that succeeds in his experiment. However, Tony escapes and tries to warn his girlfriend, but Lynch kidnaps her. Meanwhile, there is a riot among the freaks that are tired to be abused by Lynch.
"The Mutations" is a grotesque and bizarre movie that combines "Freaks" and "Frankenstein" with a mad scientist. This 1974 film is probably one of the firsts to use the idea of DNA to promote genetic modifications to the race. And also, one of the last ones to show sideshow since the politically correct times and generation would not allow a movie with freaks and his theme. Despite the low-budget, the plot and the visual effects are good. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Estranhas Mutações" ("Strange Mutations")
M.D.C. - Maschera di cera (1997)
The Creepy Wax Museum
On 31 December 1900, in Paris, a man and his wife are slaughtered at home and only their daughter survives, and Inspector Lanvin (Aldo Massasso) promises to take care of her. Twelve years later, in Rome, there is a recently opened wax museum where the attractions are gruesome murders to scare the visitors. The client of a brothel, Luca (Daniel Auber), is challenged in a bet to spend the night inside, but he is murdered, and the police and the coroner believe he had a heart attack. The costume designer Sonia Lafont (Romina Mondello) seeks for a job in the museum and the owner, Mr. Boris Volkoff (Robert Hossein), immediately hires her despite the objections of his assistant Alex (Umberto Balli). When Sonia is leaving the museum, she meets the photographer and journalist Andrea Conversi (Riccardo Serventi Longhi), who is investigating Luca's death, and soon they become lovers. Many people disappear in Rome, and the museum increases the number of wax statues and murder scenes. What is the mystery of the creepy wax museum?
"M. D. C. - Maschera di cera", a.k.a. "The Wax Mask", is a great Franco-Italian production, with a great horror film despite the senseless conclusion. The costumes and the special effects are magnificent, and the plot is tense. The actresses are very beautiful, and this film is highly entertaining, recalling the Hammer productions. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Museu dos Horrores" ("Horrors Museum")
The Adam Project (2022)
Shutdown Your Brain, Disregard Paradoxes and Enjoy the Entertainment
In 2050, a time-traveling pilot (Ryan Reynolds) fights another jet and is wounded, and he jumps to 2022. In 2022, the twelve-year-old boy Adam Reed (Walker Scobell) lives with his mother Ellie (Jennifer Garner) and misses his beloved father, the scientist Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who has recently died. While his mother is working, Adam finds the pilot in the garage and soon he learns that the pilot is himself in 2050. Further, he intended to jump to 2018 to save his wife, Laura (Zoe Saldaña), who apparently died while investigating a confidential subject. The old Adam needs Adam to use his DNA to activate his jet plane since he is wounded, but is located by his enemies, Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener) and Christos (Alex Mallari Jr.). Out of the blue, they are saved by Laura, and flee to a house by the sea. She tells them that they must return to 2018 to meet Louis Reed and destroy his experimental time machine since Maya is returning to 2018 to provide information to herself to dominate the world in the future. The problem is that Maya Sorian is Louis' sponsor, partner and friend, and they have to convince him that she is a menace to the world.
"The Adam Project" is an enjoyable Netflix's film, with great cast and special effects, but a reasonable story. Walker Scobell is a promising actor, and the movie has names such as Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña, among others in the cast. There are many paradoxes for a time traveling movie, but if you shut down your brain and disregard paradoxes, you will certainly enjoy the entertainment. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Projeto Adams" ("The Adam Project")
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Game Show (2004)
Annoying Character Kevin and The Title Song Destroy a Good Episode
The host of a game show Roddy Lankman is questioned by his assistant Lizzie Talvo, who threatens him to talk to the producer. Roddy sabotages the break of her car, and she has a fatal accident on the road. Meanwhile, Sharona is visiting her mother and has invited Monk's neighbor Kevin Dorfman, who lost his lottery prize and returned to his apartment, to help Monk. Trudy's father, the producer Dwight Ellison, visits Monk and invites him to go to Los Angeles with him since he believes Roddy Lankman is cheating the game show with the dumb contestant Val Brich that is winning a fortune. Monk and Kevin travel with Dwight and Monk becomes a contestant to investigate the case.
"Mr. Monk and the Game Show" could have been one of the best episodes of "Monk", since the story has remarkable points, like Monk returning to Trudy's bedroom or the recollections of his beloved wife. The writers finally reduced hos OCD, and the episode show no exaggeration as usual. However, the annoying character Kevin and the title song destroy a good episode. Is it possible that any viewer like the awful Kevin? It is supposed to be funny, but his gags and behavior irritate any viewer. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Monk e o Programa de Auditório" ("Monk and the Television Show")
Quicksilver Highway (1997)
The Teeth and The Rebellion of the Hands
A just married couple has a flat tire at a desert highway and the spare tire is also flat. The husband Kerry Parker (Raphael Sbarge) asks his wife Olivia Harmon Parker (Missy Crider) to wait for him while he seeks help. During the night, a trailer stops and the driver Aaron Quicksilver (Christopher Lloyd), who is a collector, invites Olivia to stay with him and tells the story of the label salesman Bill Hogan ((Raphael Sbarge). During a sandstorm, Bill stops at the convenience store owned by Myra (Veronica Cartwright) and her husband Scooter (Bill Bolender) gives a walking teeth toy for Bill's son as a birthday gift. The reluctant Bill gives a ride in his van to the hitchhiker Bryan Adams (Silas Weir Mitchell), who shows that is a psychopath thief, with a surprising end. Later, Quicksilver is working at a carnival and a pickpocket Charlie (Matt Frewer) hides from the police in his tent. Quicksilver tells him the story of the successful plastic surgeon Dr. Charles George (Matt Frewer) when his hands rebels against his body and declare freedom.
"Quicksilver Highway" is a comedy horror movie based on two stories: Stephen King's "Chattery Teeth" and Clive Baker's "The Body Politic". Both stories are funny, but Clive Baker's one is certainly the funniest, showing the rebellion of the hands initiated by the hands of the plastic surgeon Dr. Charles George. Both segments have a lead segment, and the storyteller Aaron Quicksilver tells the stories to his guests. Both stories have no message or moral and just entertain the viewer. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "A Maldição de Quicksilver" ("The Curse of Quicksilver")
Paradise Road (1997)
Magnificent Movie
After the Fall of Singapore during the World War II, the last women of different nationalist and children flee in a British Navy ship. However, the ship sank by the Japanese airplanes and the survivors reach the Island of Sumatra. They are sent to a Japanese POW camp and abused by the soldiers under the command of Colonel Hirota (Sab Shimono) and Captain Tanaka (Stan Egi). Some of the women dies of diseases, especially malaria; others are murdered by the Japanese, others become whore of the Japanese officers expecting to have food, silk sheets and soaps. Most of the others, led by Adrienne Pargiter (Glenn Close), who is graduated in the Royal Academy of Music, and the missionary Margaret "Daisy" Drummond (Pauline Collins), organize a singing group initially to sing Dvorak, to relief their situation and hunger in the camp.
"Paradise Road" is among my favorite movies of the World War II. Based on a true event, the Women's Vocal Orchestra of Sumatra (see Wikipedia), this film is amazing with a dramatization of the happening in a Japanese POW camp. In addition, the fantastic female cast, with names such as Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies and many others is another attraction. Surprisingly, this film was only released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Um Canto de Esperança" ("A Singing of Hope")
Monk: Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month (2004)
Great Episode
In the Mega-Mart Department Store, the employee Edna Coruthers is hunted down by a forklift in the storage unit early in the morning and dies when a TV falls on her. Stottlemeyer and Randy learn that Edna has been the employee of the month for ten consecutive months and believe it was an accident. However, the security guard head Joe Christie suspects it was a murder and calls Monk. Joe was Monk's former partner and became rogue and fired by the police force when drugs have been stolen from the evidence department and he was the suspect, although denying it. The criminals were released and killed two police officers later. Monk refuses the case since he has a beef with Joe, but almost one month later, he examines the letters received by the store accusing Edna of misconduct and sees something strange in the stamps and he believes Joe might be right. He is hired by Joe to work undercover in Mega-Mart, and when he is attacked by a wild dog, Joe saves his life. He decides to give a look at Joe's case in the police department and finds evidence that he is innocent. Now he has to find who killed Edna and why.
"Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month" is a great episode of this series, more focused in human relationship than in Monk's OCD. There are scenes, like Monk blowing bubble wrap, or needing to fix the box while hunted down by the dog in the store. But most of the show is relative to the relationship of Monk and Joe Christie after the incrimination of his partner and the sequent murder of two police officers with family by the released criminals. The conclusion is touching, with Joe being reinstated by Stottlemeyer and Monk sad. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Monk e a Funcionária do Mês" ("Monk and the Employee of the Month")
Satan's School for Girls (2000)
Terrible Remake
When Jenny Hammersmith (Irene Contogiorgis) arrives at her sister's house, she is attacked by a weird shadow and stabbed. The police believe she committed suicide since she was alone in the house. And close the case. However, Beth (Shannen Doherty) is not convinced and refuses to accept that her sister traveled to commit suicide. She decides to join the Fallbridge College for Women where Jenny, to investigate what happened to her. She uses the alias of Karen Oxford to be not identified as Jenny's sister and is welcomed by Alison Kingsley (Julie Benz), Paige (Taraji P. Henson) and Courtney (Aimée Castle) and has an interview with the Dean (Kate Jackson). Soon she dreams with strange things in the college and tries to find out who The Five are. She also dates Mark Lantch (Daniel Cosgrove), who provides information from the Dean's files, until she discovers the dark secret of Fallbridge and The Five.
"Satan's School for Girls" (1973) is a weak, but cult horror movie with an atmospheric environment and some creepy scenes. This 2000 terrible remake is absolutely unnecessary and destroys the good parts of the storyline of the original film. The gorgeous Julie Benz and Shannen Doherty, and the Charlie's Angel Kate Jackson that worked in the original movie are the great attraction of this forgettable movie, only released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Lindas and Diabólicas" ("Beautiful and Diabolic")