andy-752 Reviews

Twice-Told Tales (1963)

No Corman takes it down a notch

[7/10 · 12 January 2010]

Another triple play of Poe/Price, like Tales of Terror, but without Corman, and not quite as good. The stories are a bit too nice... a bit melodramatic and drawn out. The tales are Heidegger's Experiment, Rappaccini's Daughter and The House of Seven Gables, and the stories are really the stars. Heidegger's explores that nugget of eternal life, Rappaccini's is about the relationship of poison and purity and Seven Gables is a twisted ghost/blood feud with lots and lots of blood. All three are certainly unusual topics, but I'd say Heidegger's and Rappacini's were my favourite. Again, the sets and design were fantastic, if limited in scope and the actresses beautiful (especially Garland and Taylor). The attention to detail is remarkable. Still, it's something only a Price/Poe fan will love, which is fine by me.

Tales of Terror (1962)

Great, for Poe/Corman/Price fans.

[8/10 · 12 January 2010]

The first side of the first of three Price/Corman(often)/Poe(often) double feature DVDs (Midnight Movies) found for a deal at Blockbuster. This one is 3 gruesome tales.

As in other Poe/Corman/Price movies, the sets, makeup and lighting are rich, despite the small budget (by today's standards). The thing is, that without the distraction of things blowing up spectacularly, and by the confinement of a limited set, the focus is on the characters and the story. Two out of the three Tales of Terror are excellent, if only for their fascination with the macabre. Morella is OK, with the actresses being quite beautiful amid chaos and destruction, but is just a taster for the last two. Black Cat is fine, with Peter Lorre standing out, even alongside the standard that is Price. The fate of he and she is not one to be desired, tho is perhaps too like Cask of Amontillado. Valdemar is cheesy, but challenges the viewer to cast of disbelief and consider vegetative perpetuity. ... and for that alone, it stands apart. Perhaps not everyone's cup of blood, but it works for me!

Outsourced (2006)

Unexpectedly great.

[8/10 · 12 January 2010]

I really liked it. I was sure it was going to turn into a moralistic, heavy 'corporations driven by financial policy' examination... and yes, that was there, but just enough to urge reflection. The romance and examination of cultures from many sides was unexpected, and what made this worth seeing. A fine movie, light and fun... despite the title.

As a computer guy, I'm now working with several from India, and this struck some chords. I'm not going to pass up a chance to visit. As far as corporate policy goes, you don't get far by withering your fundamentals, but that's enough of that.

Ayesha Dharker was very good.

Summer Rental (1985)

Inoffesive, predictable, great.

[8/10 · 20 May 2009]

A great family movie. It's one of John Candy's forgotten bests... he plays a stressed out father trying to make the best for his family. The family are great and Rip Torn plays an excellent pirate fabrication. John Larroquette is also there for some reason. It's predictable, it's disjointed, it's sappy and it's over too quickly. Worth a watch as a study of inoffensiveness and cheezy 80s synth-pop. Completes a Candy collection, but don't forget the others.

Odd that it feels like filler and complete at the same time.

IMDb needs more, so here's a quote from Neitzche: And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

The Wrong Guy (1997)

Classic Canadian Comedy

[8/10 · 25 October 2008]

Funny. Not a-laugh-a-minute funny. Not, OMG that's so stupid it's funny funny, but funny. Dry, unrepentant, continual, situational funny. Enema bag Jones funny, really. We can't afford any ice funny. Rolling thru rolling train funny. Heh. Foley without the kids, well, he's good without. I love these dry comedies. Not everything is handed to you, in fact you have to make out the comedy for yourselves, and that makes it different... great, perhaps... and definitely Canadian. There ain't no laugh track here. Colm Feore is excellent, as is the inept detective. There is a subtle reference to Hitchcock, ending up with the hang from the Statue of Liberty. See, if you can, and damn the farmers trying to shut the bank down.

Top Gear: Polar Special (2007) Season 9, Episode 8

Excellent challenge

[10/10 · 2 September 2007]

Wow. This challenge was amazing. All the guys and all the gear were stretched to the limit. The madness of driving to the north pole could only have seemed reasonable when reached from the slightly less maddening heights of other Top Gear challenges (Bugatti from Italy to UK, Merc Mclaren to Sweden, Mini jump, etc). As ever, the photography was and composition was beautiful. This episode was one of the few that made me stand back and think 'wow, that was special. I'm very lucky to have seen it.' Very well done, tho no crazy supercars and no Stig.

Here's a summary to fill out the (stupid) 10 line requirement: Jeremy and James in a Toyota Hilux (known as the Tacoma in North America) pickup truck race Richard on a dog sled to the 1996 magnetic North Pole.

Puppets Who Kill (2002–2006)

Excellent dark comedy

[10 March 2006]

Well, I had to make a comment on this excellent show given the few that are here. It's a dark comedy starring Dan, proprietor of a halfway house and the puppets, all of which have done unpleasant things. Acting is very good. Puppets are played straight up... hard smoking, hard drinking, hard talking stuffed animals. The writing is excellent, touching and trying typical social boundaries in the first part of each episode and then riding on the chaos that ensues... usually with a sexy temptress along the way. No punches are pulled, but that does not leave me with a feeling of being insulted. If anything, challenged, awestruck and crying with laughter. Like any good puppet show, the puppets get away with much more than any human would and there is much to learn and laugh at in the experience. They're still making them as of March 2005, airing on weekends on the Comedy Network (Canada). Highly recommended and a welcome alternative to the mostly toned down comedy on the other Canadian networks.

Humongous (1982)

Underrated slasher

[8/10 · 4 March 2006]

I very much enjoyed Humongous. Yes, it's dark, yes, it's slow, but it's honest. The story is unlikely but plausible. The acting is sufficient to convey the story, and even good by Janet Julian. I immediately contrasted it with Last House on the Left... gritty and plausible, good stuff done by talented amateurs. It is best seen on a TV/monitor with the brightness turned way up.

It is easy to overlook slasher horror of that period due to production quality or unknown performers, but, the early 80s was a boom time with VHS/beta reaching market and semi-professional gear coming to market. With the advances came a greater variety of scripts and interpretation, tho perhaps without the backing of large studios or with less finesse. Don't be so shallow as to overlook them, for they seem to have had quite an influence on the diversity of fringe cinema today.

Give humongous a go if you're a fan of the genre.

Starship Troopers (1997)

21 pages and counting

[8/10 · 20 May 2005]

Yeah, this movie does have something. Tongue-in-cheek political correctness. Wooden, distinct characters, over-the-top at every chance. Excellent fiction, examining war thru absurdity. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. At very least, it makes a great drinking game... 1 shot for each 'Medic!'. Lots of fun. At a certain level, making fun of US militarism is like shooting fish... this is at least is bearable while the identifying obvious... that in itself may be genius. Excellent watch, perhaps more if playing a game, especially in the slim-pickings of good sci-fi.

The 'within-ness' of Robo-Cop is carried thru, with the propagandized commercials seeming right at-home when viewed on commercial TV. Can't help but get the feeling it's cheering for itself, at a certain point... perhaps pointing out the obvious. Maybe 'question' definitely 'sit back for the ride'.

Nuclear Rescue 911: Broken Arrows & Incidents (2001 Video)

Examination of nuclear mishaps

[7/10 · 10 April 2005]

Not a bad documentary of nuclear close-calls, spanning from the '50s to the '80s. Well researched and, in many cases, with interviews with those directly involved. Adam West does a good job of narration.

Scary stuff. Multi-megaton madness. On one hand I admire the dedication that individuals have put towards the nuclear program, but on the other cannot see any possible justification for the huge human and economic drain. With so much power in the atom, it is definitely the wise move to understand and use such knowledge for peace, and not for intimidation, control and bureaucratic self justification, but I digress.

I enjoyed this documentary, yet still don't quite understand its prerequisite.

Son of the Beach (2000–2002)

Great

[1 July 2004]

Excellent. Reminds me of Sledgehammer of the 80s, early Married With Children or perhaps Red Dwarf... contrived, crude, crass, self indulgent and unrepentant. It's perhaps easy to dismiss, but watch a couple epis and you'll be hooked. Notch Johnson (Timothy Stack), and good writing help this stand out. There's a good amount (if stereotypical) character development with each episode following a predictable, but enjoyable path. The character's names crack me up... Mayor Anita Massingil, rofl. The Steven Hawking character was a bit too much. Perhaps they're finding it tough to one-up South Park. It's a shame it was cancelled. TV needs more of independent voices and less of the contrived, mass market, lowest common denominator Raymond and Survivor tripe. Find it and watch, if you can.