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Reviews
Ghostbusters (1984)
No moments are wasted
I'll be honest. I don't enjoy SF/Fantasy films that spend time focusing on the real world before revealing the unreal scenario (probably why I don't like GB 2). Bearing this in mind, I'd have to say that Ghostbusters delivers well on this level. The film moves at a good pace, and isn't dull or lagging. The comedy is great, but unlike some other films, there are a few moments of genuine intensity that contribute to the frission in this film. In short, it doesn't overdo it when it comes to humor. The climax of the film exemplifies this; the marshmallow man was a scream when incongruously paired with the demonic threat of Gozer. It is concluded when the otherwordly threat is dispensed with; there is no last tie-ups. It ends when it should, in my humble opinion.
The FX are good, I suppose, though it's a disappointment more creatures weren't showcased. The characters are also well-developed, and each Ghostbuster makes a perfect foil for the other members of the team.
Suffice it to say, short but sweet. Get it if you can.
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Sped-up, cliched SF
The only thing to bother with in this movie is the special effects. Stan Winston does a good job with animal-men, though he predictably gives the more intelligent ones more humanlike features. The film is cliched, both for its "playing god" theme and the "create the perfect human race" theme. Surely one of the oddball parts of the film is Moreau (Landau), who is ludicrously detached (not to mention attired :/) from what his actions have created, living in his lavishly furnished jungle estate and insisting that no one is to eat meat, even though characters based on carnivores are evident in the film.
The real crime of this film, however, is that everything seems to be in fast-forward mode. The movie is squeezed into is timeframe in such a way that it left me wondering if parts had been cut out. So many things occur in a quick fashion. A good example is Montgomery (Kilmer). He slips over the edge for no apparent reason, shortly after Moreau is killed (in another laughable scene which fully illustrates what little attention Moreau pays to his creations; he prattles on to a team of rebelling creatures intent on killing him and ends up being partially devoured in his hammock). Thewlis's character (his name escapes me at the moment) discovers the lab on his first night on the island, after picking a lock and sneaking into an unlocked laboratory (!)
Montgomery and other major figures, including Moreau's daughter and a hyena-man who led a revolt against Moreau, die pointless deaths near the movie's (anti-)climax. Thewlis's character escapes, albeit not with a powerful message, or much of anything.
Shadow Raiders (1998)
Not the best from Mainframe
War Planets has great voice work, characterization, and the animation is the best of all the three SF shows that Mainframe/Alliance has produced. Yet it is an ultimate letdown in writing. The seasons have what I call "mini-arcs" which is to say that after a series of one-shot episodes, we finally try to do something noteworthy. Most of the time, the mini-arcs are fairly good, but are a bit flat because there is no building tension. If focus could be shifted to court intrigues and smaller conflicts within the Alliance, perhaps we might have a better show, but these is a side of WP that has remained woefully untapped for the most part. The opening episodes of the series, for instance, could have been extended and more laid out, but instead Graveheart is exiled too easily. The standard cliches of action animation are glaring here, with plots that seem quick and sometimes banal.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
Hilarity for sci-fi fans
In short, a great film. Though the acting and aesthetics are somewhat loose, this is unimportant. It's just plain funny. It's for everyone who likes humorous science fiction, spoofs, or is just sick and tired of bad movies, SF or otherwise. The film is rife with pop culture references, showing that the writers are paying attention, and the humor relatively clean. There is not much of a plot besides "Test subject forced to view bad movie", but in the end, it doesn't really matter, It's a true shame that I'm Canadian, and can't get the Sci-Fi channel, where this program is weekly.
Beast Wars: Transformers (1996)
A worthy sucessor
Continuing the legacy of ReBoot and the Transformers, Beast Wars is a great show. While the original cartoon was strictly pure kiddie fare, rife with fun but not much else, BW is something else entirely. The plots are intricate, with arcs that span a season before ending in an explosive climax and cliffhanger. The voice work far surpasses most animated programs, and BW can rightly be considered science fiction in its purest form. The characters are well-developed, and some even change as the series proceeds. To annex this, references to the original Transformers characters are made, and two have even made cameos, making it richer than ever. Even the fans are not forgotten, and many a weird Internet handle has found its way into the name of a location or a project code. Despite what some may say, BW is impressive, and the villains are well-rounded to.
ReBoot (1994)
An interesting, double-edged show
ReBoot is a great show, that suceeds in two areas. In the first season, up until the tail end of the second, it was a humorous, fun show, not dull and gritty like some action animation programs. It made funny analogies to popular culture, as well as the cliches of other action cartoons, with a witty deftness. At the tail end of season two, and in season three, ReBoot entered a different zone: that of a dark, emotionally intense show of characters fighting against hopeless odds. It was still ReBoot, but a very different ReBoot then the one we knew. It, like Beast Wars, is not kiddie animation, but science fiction in its purest form.
The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
Dissapointing for this TF fan, but it had potential
An attempt to give the cartoon something it never had before i.e. depth, intricacy, gritiness, it fails miserably on this level, as well as many others. The critics hated it, but for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, many of the newer story elements are not foreshadowed in the cartoon series--never even hinted at! Things such as the Matrix of Leadership, with its obvious long-term importance to Transformers, should have been shown before the movie. And what of the plot? Predictable for the most part, though the worlds they visit are interesting. The voice acting is stiff, especially from the well-known stars in the cast, which is ironic, since their voices were appropriate for the characters they did. The animation and music are okay. But, like with many things, there is another side to this. In terms of ideas, the movie makes its contribution, adding several unique plot ideas that were improved and duplicated in the comic book, as well as giving TF canon a much wider scope. The personalites of the Autobot characters are well shown, even though about three are archetypal, but the new Decepticons leave a lot to be desired. It also shows that Sunbow productions has the audacity (or the stupidity) to kill off two of its main characters, and put quite different (though not necessarily bad) leaders in their place. In my opinion, the move tie-ins in the comic book and the post-movie cartoon handle these ideas much better, so enjoy them, and only think of the movie as a way to make ends meet. But it had potential, and is a good romp for some younger TransFans, though ultimately it dissappoints me.