john-mitchell77 Reviews

Scream 3 (2000)

Third of the Trilogy Loses Steam

[6/10 · 10 November 2016]

The main reason I thought Scream was so good was the way it played with fans' expectations. It said 'Here's what usually happens in the genre, and here's what we're going to do'. Sometimes that was to totally subvert a genre convention and sometimes it was to follow one, having first pointing out that it was one. I thought it added a lot of humour to the film, as well as being very clever. With Scream 2 we got more subversion and more of a kind of knowing wink, which was delicious. With the third, imaginatively titled Scream 3, we got something that appears to going somewhere new and interesting, but soon became a little run-of-the-mill and very predictable. In short, it turned into the very kind of stuff that the original and the follow-up were lampooning. OK, there are moments in this which are worth a giggle, but I wasn't rubbing my hands together with delight at how clever it was, as I had done with the first two. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, as the movie progresses, it gets sillier and more contrived. It pains me to say it, having loved the first two, but, the trilogy ends, not on a high, how it should have, but rather fizzles out.

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

Pointless & Hideous

[1/10 · 17 April 2016]

A rarity, and not in any way, shape or form do I mean that in a good way. It is a rare thing, this movie, in that it has no merit; no redeeming aspects whatsoever, in that it has no merit; no redeeming aspects whatsoever. It is vile, and is second only, in terms of vileness, to the movie 'A Serbian Film', and that is saying something.

Another aspect of this terrible movie to which I take exception, is the title 'Day of the Woman'. It's not the title I first knew the movie by, but that's not the issue. The issue is 'Day of the Woman', Was obviously a title given to the movie in a ham-fisted attempt to make something that is quite plainly nasty, misogynist rubbish, seem like a feminist work. It's quite sickening, really.

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)

What's New?

[12 December 2011]

Now, I liked Dirty Dancing. I'm not ashamed to admit that. It had quotable lines like: "My God, it's Cleopatra! I feel like such an asp!" and "Oh, come on, ladies! God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em!" and, of course, the iconic "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" and the dancing was spot on. The plot had been seen before in a thousand incarnations, but I thought it wasn't bad. So, when a sequel was mentioned, I was quite intrigued. What was there left to say? Answer: Absolutely zippo! It's the same flippin' movie! Same characters (although with different names) and same plot. It's not even disguised, or if it was, it failed miserably. This is a clunky, needless rehash. It's pretty terrible. Nice to look at, admittedly and the soundtrack's not bad, but other than that, pointless.

Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

Something's Wrong Here

[12 December 2011]

What's up with the Farrelly Brothers here? Remember, these are the guys who brought us There's Something About Mary and Kingpin - both pant-wettingly funny - but here, they have gone for the tired, unoriginal comedy-by-numbers approach, whereby they use the same three jokes, throw in some political incorrectness and voila! Yes, voila, indeed; 'Voila! Here's a couple of hours of your life you can never get back!' It's guano, or would a big, steaming cow pat be more appropriate? I usually like Jim Carrey, but even he can't wring anything good out of this old, metaphorical, crusty pair of cinematic Y-fronts. Sorry, Bobby and Peter, you've served up a right old dud this time.

Wild at Heart (1990)

Lynch Does Lynch

[6/10 · 12 December 2011]

Now, I am a Lynch fan. I love the way he is able to tap into the most disturbing recesses of the subconscious, dredge up the most visceral, unnerving and insane thoughts, ideas and images, which reside there, and transfer them onto the screen. This was done superbly in Eraserhead and the pilot of Twin Peaks. It pains me to say, then, that this does not come up to par. It's almost like he is running a 'how to be a Lychian director' class, and has made this as an educational tool. It's like 'Lynch does Lynch'; he has become conscious of what we expect, and has tried too hard. Consequently, it comes off like a parody, and performances from certain people - most notably, Nicolas Cage - do not help. I get the feeling he is going for a James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause kind of vibe, but unfortunately, does a kind of disaffected Elvis. There are some flashes of the old master, but mostly this is a disappointing offering from someone so original.

The Boxer's Omen (1983)

Weird. Plain weird.

[7/10 · 30 April 2009]

This one's definitely one to see, just to say you've seen it. That's not to say you won't get something out of it, but it's weird… it's tremendously weird! It starts off predictably enough, with a revenge flick set-up, but soon goes off on superbly bizarre tangents involving flying heads, automaton Buddhas and tons of maggots and oodles of vomit. It seems that anything to do with magic also involves maggots and vomit.

A word of warning to people - like me - who like to try to psycho-analyse weird films, books etc.; don't try. Your head will hurt. The best thing to do when watching this, is just to let it wash over you.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Good, but not without flaws

[7/10 · 28 March 2008]

Let me say first, that I do like this movie; it has a fair stab at confronting some serious issues, and has some good performances. These things, however, do not detract from its obvious flaws.

It seems, to me to be more than a little contrived as it tries to address every issue faced by African Americans today. The characters are a bit one-dimensional too. Every white person in it seems to be a racist bigot and the police seem to be represented as even worse.

Altogether, although at times, this movie seems heavy-handed and contrived, what it sets out to do, it does, giving its audience a lot to think about and, in parts, at least, offers clarity and roundedness.

It's definitely worth a look.

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Formulaic fun

[8/10 · 11 October 2007]

What can I say? SoaP is good. It's one of those films that you are pleased you've watched because it's so much fun and it knows it (as if we were in any doubt, given the title). It's an hour and a half well spent. It's one of the best offerings of its genre.

Having said that, it's pretty formulaic; you can see things coming a mile off, and the only memorable performance is that of Samuel L. Jackson, but that's to be expected, seeing as he is just about the coolest man on the planet. It just shows what an outstanding actor he is. He's able to do the heavy stuff just as well as this type of movie.

The script is witty and fun all the way through, unlike others, which can lose interest in funny dialogue in favour of action sequences.

This movie, then, is predictable, but well executed and funny. There's no deep and meaningful here, but who wants it. Just have fun for a couple of hours.

If you haven't already, see it.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

What a beast of a movie!

[10/10 · 14 February 2007]

I heard the same thing mentioned about this movie over and over again: the transformation scene. I thought that must mean that that was the only good part, and the rest of the movie was utter tripe, as so often happens.

This preconceived idea put me off. Later, after hearing the word excellent used to describe it, I decided that I'd have to see it to make up my own mind. So I did, and I have made up my mind. It's the best werewolf movie EVER! It knocks the socks off anything before or since.

It's gory, it's got romance, the performances are great, it's bittersweet and it's howlingly funny. Oh, and the transformation scene? Oh my God! It's INCREDIBLE.

Unleash this animal into your collection NOW. You'll love it. I did.

Scream (1996)

Scream it from the rooftops. Scream is stabtastic!!!

[10/10 · 13 February 2007]

I've always loved Wes Craven movies, the man is a genius. He knows exactly which buttons to push with an audience. Kevin Williamson is also great. He credits the audience with intelligence in his writing and never talks down to them. Also, as a film fan, it's great when they both take a swipe at the genre they are working in, as they do here.

Both men having great senses of humour, you just knew that when they came together, they would produce something pretty special. Special, in fact, doesn't do it justice. It is abso-flaming-lutely amazing!

From the opening sequence, which hits you, like a well-aimed punch to the gut, right to the end, which leaves you wanting more, this movie is everything you could ever want from its genre. It's genuinely scary, evokes real sympathy for the frightened high school kids and is most definitely hilarious. This is one of, if not the best offering of its genre.

If you love horror flicks and movies in general, or you just like a laugh, Scream is for you. In fact, its for everyone... Scream is pure gold. Love, love, love it!

American Psycho (2000)

Love the book, love the movie

[9/10 · 13 February 2007]

American Psycho was always a book that I wanted to see made into a movie. I thought it would be amazing to see Bret Easton Ellis's masterpiece (in my opinion) make it on to the screen. I wasn't so sure, however, of how Christian Bale would do as Patrick Bateman. I didn't see him in the role at all. I don't know whom I thought would be better, but it wasn't him.

I was stupid. Bale is fantastic, and rises to what is quite a challenge, extremely well. For me, his portrayal of Bateman is bang on the money. His self-obsessed, emotionally detached nut-job is every bit as unhinged and chilling as Ellis's creation.

The movie itself is good, and does something very clever. It takes Ellis's gore factor away slightly, not much, but slightly, and puts a little more suggestion in.

What's also in there, is the dark, dark humour of the book, which can be lost when some novels get the Hollywood treatment.

All in all, a very good movie. Thumbs up for a job well done!

Truly Madly Deeply (1990)

Wow!!

[12 February 2007]

Now, I like a weepy, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I actively seek out those films that are most likely to make me cry. However, more often than not, I end up disappointed because usually this type of film is either wildly melodramatic or painfully sentimental.

That's what I was expecting from this, to tell the truth. A woman overcome with grief at the death of her boyfriend? Give me a break!... I was in floods by the end, and promptly watched it again.

This film is testament to how well us Brits can do when we put our minds to it. It's charming, funny, warm and absolutely heart-breaking. All the performances are grouped under an umbrella label 'very good', with one notable exception: that of Juliet Stevenson as Nina. She is magnificent, and is, at times unbearable to watch. I'm still absolutely astonished at her performance. This is a woman who has had her heart and soul ripped out I love this film. I'm getting a lump in my throat just thinking about it. It's wonderful! (Blub! *Sniff*)

Saw II (2005)

Some pieces are missing

[6/10 · 12 December 2006]

I really cannot stand it when it's obvious that a film is made just to cash in on the success of it's predecessor. I know that's the way sequels work, that's why, generally, they're inferior pieces of work to their originals. This old pile of pants, I'm afraid to say, is no exception.

I really enjoyed the original. It was original. It was a great example of a great mystery. This one is just same old, same old with a few more people in the mix, and the so called "twist" at the end is more than a little predictable.

There are good performances in this one, but that's what you get with a good cast of actors, so that's to be expected.

This promised so much, but didn't meet it's potential by a long chalk. If you loved the original, you won't absolutely hate this, but you'll be disappointed. Could do better.

Son in Law (1993)

"Cheek chillers. You likes?"

[7/10 · 12 December 2006]

Despite myself, I really kinda like this movie. Pauley Shore is invariably laugh-out-loud funny, and here is no exception. He is just excellent at playing the weirdo with a heart of gold.

His performance in this, although nothing out of the ordinary for him, is so good, it seems to lift other cast members' performances. Perhaps this is because he's the kind of guy it's easy to bounce off of.

The clichés about country life in this movie are hilarious and the way Shore's "city boy", Crawl is so at odds with the way of life, is funny too, but it's not only he who's a fish out of water; comedy also comes from the fact, that to any "ordinary" person or people, Crawl is a freakish nightmare of a person. That's why this movie works in such a great way: we love Crawl, he's a breath of fresh air, but we can also sympathise with the Warners. He is one hell of a culture shock.

Although this movie is classic Pauley Shore, so there's no great brain power needed to enjoy the movie, enjoy it you do, and there's even a "never judge a book by it's cover" type moral here somewhere. Not bad, not bad at all.

Society (1989)

Weird, not for the squeamish but good

[8/10 · 30 November 2006]

This is definitely a movie that leaves a big, big impression. I actually saw it some time before I saw it; that is to say I saw half of it in the early nineties when it was first on satellite movie channels.

From that half-viewing, I was resolute that one day I'd see the whole thing, as I do that with movies that scare or intrigue me, I have to see them.

So, ten or so years later, when the opportunity came to see it, I took it and found that I actually quite liked it.

It is a one-of-a-kind movie, nothing before or since, has a similar subject matter or the same black sense of humour. These things make the whole movie slightly near the knuckle, but I like that in a movie.

However good this movie is, I think that it is one of those rare movies that is so out of left field and so weird that it may become the stuff of video legend. It may become like a myth; I find it hard to convince those who haven't seen it that this movie exists already.

If you're thinking of seeing this movie, do, but first, be warned, it's a very acquired taste, with imagery and scenes that stay with you for a long, long time (e.g the shunting scene) and it is definitely not for the squeamish. Enjoy.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

It'll put a spell on you

[7/10 · 24 November 2006]

I must say I like this movie! Whenever I see it, I get a proper Disney, warm, fuzzy feeling. It's a prime example of what is now commonplace in movies, but wasn't when this was released; it appeals to both adults and children.

It has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, in the main, due to Bette Midler's wonderfully over the top performance as Winifred. Kathy Najimy is also great and Doug Jones as Billy is very funny.

It's all here: Comedy, nice little scares and that Disney factor. On the whole, minus the odd cringe-worthy moment, this isn't bad. It's a lovely little comedy with a heart of gold. If you haven't seen it, do. It's definitely worth a watch

White Chicks (2004)

OK, for its genre

[7/10 · 7 November 2006]

This movie is your typical brainless comedy. It's the kind of comedy that the Wayans brothers are famous for, and there's a reason for that. It's really quite funny.

This movie, as is customary with this type of comedy, even has something to say about relationships, both with friends and with significant others. I'm sure that this was always a part of the story, but it does give you the sense somehow that it might have been a means of fleshing out the script and characters.

Sure, it's not cutting edge comedy and the acting isn't great, nor is the story, but it's a Wayans brothers project. It's not going to be a genre-busting offering, but the visual jokes are funny and provide a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, as do some of written jokes, because Shawn and Marlon know where the laughs are, and go all out to shake every last titter out of you. Sometimes it doesn't quite work, but hey, they've definitely tried with this one.

So, if you're looking for an intelligent comedy, you won't find it here, but if you want a couple of hours where you can leave your brain in your coat pocket and just laugh, and let's face it, why not, then go for it!

Saw (2004)

Truly original horror with a nasty sting in the tail! Love it!

[9/10 · 7 November 2006]

I'd heard both good and bad stuff about this movie, but the thing that made me have to see it was when I heard the word "sick" used to describe it. I thought 'that word hasn't been used to refer to a movie since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and look what we got there!' It was official: I had to see this film.

So, when my brother-in-law - also a horror fan - rented it and asked if I'd like to watch it with him, I jumped at the chance.

I found it to be a very creative, original and clever thriller. The idea is brilliant, the reason for the "bad guy" to do what he does is well thought out, albeit slightly barmy, but then again, he would have to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

I also like the fact that the audience finds itself playing detective along with the on-screen ones, and is as frustrated as they are through the course of the film.

This is a good film, that actually gives you something to think about. The performances are good and, at stages, it is really quite chilling and is far more than a sicko gorefest.

I think one of the things that people who dislike this movie object to is the ending. I think it's a brilliant ending. Anything that gets you shouting "NO!" at the screen gets the thumbs up from me Intelligent, thought provoking, gory with a brilliantly nasty twist

Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.... Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!!!

[10/10 · 4 May 2006]

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. I hid behind the sofa and vowed never to watch it again, as it was too scary, too dark, too kooky, perhaps.

A couple of years went by and I got increasingly intrigued by this weirdo film I had seen. so, when the opportunity to see it again came up, I watched it... AND ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! As I've got older, it has found itself a special place in my heart, and every time I dig my old copy out, it's like seeing an old, dear friend, and I stop whatever it is I'm doing, and stick it on.

I think Beetlejuice is amazing. The whole movie has a sense of fun, with great lines and a great way of looking at life (and death, of course).

The principal cast are all great; Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are fabulous as the straight-laced Maitlands, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones are very funny as Delia, the neurotic, spoilt brat of a woman, and Charles, her hen-pecked husband. Winona Ryder puts in a great performance as the morbid little girl lost, Lydia and Glenn Shadix is a barrel of laughs as Otho.

But the show belongs to one man, Michael Keaton. He is a revelation! He is the funniest, coolest and the best thing about this movie.

Everything else about this movie is great; Tim Burton's Gothic style, the score by Danny Elfman, the other actors, they are all brilliant, but Michael Keaton is breath-taking. He is like 20,000 volts of electricity, saying "sit up and take notice of ME!" We're glad to, Michael, because, as the film's poster says "Michael Keaton is BEETLEJUICE"! Just Excellent!