Comedy/Sci-Fi, 78 Minutes, 1981
I continue my month of A.I. with one of the absolute strangest movies in the genre. This movie is bizarre on a multiplicity of levels. It was Audy Kaufman’s [IMDB] first (and only) leading role in a film. Its budget was nearly double that of its contemporary, Escape From New York [IMDB]. Stan Winston [IMDB] did the effects! John Williams [IMDB] did the score! This was going to be a huge film!
Action/Sci-Fi, 120 Minutes, 2015
I start off my month of A.I. with one of the movies I was most looking forward to. Neill Blomkamp [IMDB] , despite having a name that sounds like an expensive sex act, has brought us some of the best, most thought provoking science fiction of the past decade. That said, he’s not the most subtle, or even the most original, writer. District 9 [IMDB] was an incisive, if blunt, commentary on the inherent disaster of institutionalized inequality. Elysium’s [IMDB] Haves-versus-Have-Nots theme was even less elegant, but effectively timeless regardless.
Horror, 84 Minutes, 2015, Official Web Site
[This review was completed at the request of the filmmaker. No other consideration was given.]
This is a no-budget experimental horror film from writer/director Richard Anthony Dunford [IMDB]. The story is told in real-time and wholly from the visual point of view of the main character. (more…)
Biography, 90 Minutes, 2014
The first time I tried to see James “The Amazing” Randi in person was many years ago. I was living in Boston and he was appearing at MIT. A friend and I left work early and walked to the campus only to find that the auditorium was completely overrun. Well over a hundred people had already been turned away, and more were piling in behind us. We couldn’t even get a glimpse of the man.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi, 124 Minutes, 2015
1993’s “Jurassic Park” [IMDB] is a touchstone for a generation. The movie melded some of the richest, most evolved practical effects ever created with, then, bleeding-edge digital effects to bring every child’s fantasy to life: dinosaurs. After dragging audiences through two stunted, heavy-handed sequels, this movie promises nothing less than a rekindling of that original magic.
Spoiler: It doesn’t do it. There is no rekindling.
Horror/Thriller, 93 Minutes, 2015
When I previously reviewed The Whole Damn Poltergeist Franchise, I lamented the sad decline of the sequels, but marveled at how well the first movie has held up. It’s a classic that remains just as effective today as it did 30 years ago. There is no earthly reason to remake it.
As widely reported, 80’s icon “Rowdy” Roddy Piper [IMDB] died peacefully in his sleep on July 31st at the age of 61. Roderick George “Roddy” Toombs was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on April 17, 1954 to parents of Scottish and Irish descent. He left home at a young age after a dispute with his father and ended up doing gopher work for professional wrestlers.
He received the stage name “Roddy Piper” when he made his wrestling debut at the age of 15 in Winnipeg. He approached the ring playing the bagpipes, a gimmick that would become his trademark. The announcer gave his name as “Roddy the Piper”, but fans heard “Roddy Piper” and the name stuck.
Piper had numerous acting credits across a long, interesting career, but I’m going to focus on two of his earliest and, for me, most fondly remembered.
Thirller, 90 Minutes, 2011
This one screams “INDIE!” louder than Marion Ravenwood in a basket. It’s a very small, tight cast: only five people total, two of which you barely see. It’s shot in, essentially, a single location: a lonely house on a deserted island. It has a good, but not quite “A” list, cast that probably brings more effort to the material than it really deserves. It also, by law, has a healthy collection of twist endings.
Like many others we recently enjoyed the painful, bleeding hell that is the first day of school. We watched two grumpy teenagers
