Halloween
Directed by John Carpenter
Screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill
Starring Donald Pleasence; Jamie Lee Curtis; and P.J. Soles
YES!!!!
A revisit to the classic!!
The Original Halloween!!
Was that the worst trailer by the way????!!!
So lets get to it.........
What ever happened to:
Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie): Come on!! Trading Places! A Fish Called Wanda! Freaky Friday! True Lies! Enough said.
Donald Pleasence (Loomis): He passed away in 1995 at the age of 75. He did 4 Halloween films. Lets not forget he was in The Great Escape and the cult film Escape from New York.
P.J. Soles (Lynda): I Love P.J. Soles. The 70's- 80's movie queen!! Carrie! Stripes! Rock N Roll High School! Private Benjamin. She slightly retired to raise her 2 children, she pops up once in awhile to do some small films.. She was once married to Dennis Quaid. A rock group Local H had a song called "Whatever Happened to PJ Soles".
Will Sadin (6 year old Mike Myers): Will is a mystery. He was on the screen for 30 seconds, however that 30 seconds was memorable for sure. Rumor has it he is a Social studies teacher. Another Rumor is that he works for the LAPD. He will not reveal anything about himself for his own privacy. What we do know is he participates often at horror conventions and does signings.
Tony Moran (23 year old Mike Myers): He was only in one of the Halloween films. He is still acting but nothing that jumps out as memorable. He is the brother of Erin Moran from Happy Days who sadly passed away this year.
Now let me get to the fun and not so fun facts.....
-The budget was 300,000 dollars. It made 70 million dollars world wide.
-Of all the girls who were suppose to be in high school only Jamie Lee Curtis was a teenager at the time of the filming.
-Mike Myers mask was a William Shatner mask from a local store purchased for three dollars then spray painted.
-Carpenter considered Jamie Lee Curtis in tribute to her mother Janet Leigh who was of course in Psycho.
-The original script was called The Babysitter Murders, and was suppose to take place over many nights. However due to budget constraints they changed everything to take place during one night. Halloween.
-The scene where Michael is young and looking through his mask with a knife is actually Debra Hill the writer. Will Sadin was not available that day of shooting. Note how well manicured the hand holding the knife is.
-Donald Pleasence did all his shots in 5 days. For 18 minutes of screen time.
-Jamie Lee Curtis was paid 8000 dollars for the film.
-The classic score was done in just 4 days by John Carpenter.
Well that is enough. I hope you like the revisit. I would give Halloween 4 1/2 out of 5. Not 5 because I did not like the ending. I mean...think about it...there is no end. I always say each film should have a beginning, middle, and end. That is what you pay for.
Happy Halloween. Be safe,
From the spooky shadows as always thanks for your time.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
Directed by Jason Hall
Screenplay by Jason Hall
Based on the book by David Finkel
Starring Miles Teller; Haley Bennett; Beulah Koale; Keisha Castle-Hughes; and Amy Schumer
In this film we follow Adam Schuman (Teller) and Solo (Koale), two US soldier who have to figure out where they fit in the world while dealing with PTS now that they are home.
It is a difficult film to review.
It is a subject that should have a big spotlight and this film shines that light.
-How difficult it is for soldiers to assimilate back into society and their families lives after coming home.
-How difficult it is for soldiers to get help for PTS
So it is a important subject to bring to the forefront, but the story line here lacks ...momentum.
It seems as you watch you are watching for 105 minutes about two people struggle over and over and over and over again. It just not an attractive movie. Nothing is happening. Nothing is moving forward. It is true life for these soldiers I imagine but as a viewer...it sits there. It is not a bad film, like noted it is important, but it is just cold.
Plus the Director, Hall, made a...bad decision to not show us what happened to make these two soldiers struggle until the very end. Why? It would have given us as the viewer something to latch on to. To not only feel for, them which we already did, but have some emotion there also. I think it was a mistake.
Let me get positive here...
This film has some outstanding performances.
Yes Miles Teller is really good here coming off a miscast performance in Only The Brave. but the star performance is by Beulah Koale as Solo. He is just fantastic. His is lost here, and often he is saying so much with a stare and look. You cheer for him and worry for him. His performance sucks you in.
Supporting these two leads are really good performances by Bennett (I want to see her in a lead role); Castle-Hughes (welcome Back); and Schumer (In a dramatic role), who play the confused suffering military brides.
A true story that needs a spotlight. Well acted. Sadly it has no push to the story...so I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween.
Directed by Tyler Perry
Screenplay by Tyler Perry
Starring Tyler Perry; Cassi Davis; Patrice Lovely; and Diamond White
In part two of the last Madea Halloween film, Madea, Bam; and Hattie drive to a haunted campground to get Tiffany and bring her home.
If you follow my blogs you already know I am a sucker for a good Tyler Perry movie. I still think Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, which was released 10 years ago this month, was embarrassingly overlooked by snotty critics that year. Jill Scott gave the best performance by a supporting actress that year, but was overlooked at Oscar time.
Now is Boo 2 good? No not really. It is just okay.
Let me get to the good:
-I think it is harmless. Meaning with movies like Jigsaw out and IT which has questionable scenes for certain age groups...this is just a fun and silly Halloween film. Yes, there are sexual innuendos in this film that can make you cringe (Joe!), but it is light. Also there are messages here about the consequences about not telling the truth and respecting your parents.
- In these movies I do not think that Tyler Perry, who is playing three characters Joe; Madea; and Brian, gets enough credit. It must be a hard balance between which one of his characters he is...or voice I guess. He constantly pulls it off. Then he is directing...himself. It has to be complicated.
-Cassi Davis who plays Aunt Bam is only 52. I think people do not realize this. She is constantly good in these films and has wonderful comic timing. Also, Patrice Lovely, as the very active Hattie is only 49!! Yes I know!! They are both so funny, and must melt under all that makeup and padding.
Now for the bad:
- It is slightly lazy writing here, a slight cash grab. The plot is close to the same as the first one. I laughed but, not that much....however I have to note that many people in my screening were laughing loud..so maybe I was not picking up some of the jokes. It is pretty much more of the same of the last film.
-After complimenting Davie; Perry; and Lovely, I have to say the young actors and actresses are pretty bad, bordering on awful. Their comic delivery and timing is just off. They are not really good actors...any of them.
Well...maybe I spent too much time on this film...I give it 2 stars out of 5 . If you are looking for a fun and a little bit scary film Boo 2 will work for you, but he has done better.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
THE SNOWMAN
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Screenplay by Peter Straugham; Hossein Amini; and Soren Sveistrup
Based on the novel by Jo Nesbo
Starring Michael Fassbender; Rebecca Ferguson; Charlotte Gainsborg; J.K. Simmons; and Val Kilmer
I was looking forward to this film. Then the reviews came out. I gave it a week.This film is based on a popular novel by Jo Nesbo. The Snowman is part of a popular series of books, The Harry Hole Series.
Well it is not as bad as what critics say. It is not great but not bad. I think there are a lot of mistakes, so let me start with them:
- It is based on a series, and Harry Hole (Fassbender} is interesting, However you can tell right away our hero has a bad and also successful track record. Yet to fill that background, that I am sure was probably in many a book, just does not work for just one film. In fact Harry is as much a mystery to us as the mystery he is trying to solve. It makes the viewer sort of unattached. We are not vested. We like him, but he is...is as cold as the atmosphere.
-J.K. Simmons as Arve Stop. What the Hell??? (No spoilers) Val Kilmer as Rafto. I really mean what the Hell!!!!! (No Spoilers Again!!) Both are just bad. J.K., Just say no to some scripts. Some parts are not right for you.
-You can tell by three screenwriters they had a lot of troubles telling this big story. It was very choppy. All over the place. Unfocused. Story-lines which were suppose to be shocking surprises were telegraphed. I just feel a lot of the book was left on the floor. I wonder if this would have worked better as a mini series on Netflix or some other platform like maybe the wonderful Night Manager (If you have not seen it, well, see it!!) There is a lot going on. However speaking of screenwriting and the plot............
The good:
-I love the slow movement of the story. With it taking place in Sweden, it reminded me of the slow burn of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, not even close to as good, but it gave us that same cold, atmosphere. The plot took its time. Some critics hated the slow movement, I do not mind having a slow build. It adds to the creepiness of the story line.
-I think Fassbender; Ferguson; and Gainsbourg are all really good here. All believable.
2 stars out of 5 for The Snowman. Not as bad as the critics say. It is worth a look when it comes to home viewing.
I for some reason, brain lapse maybe, I jumped ahead last week and posted this week releases and skipped last week ...working backwards and if you have any interest in my opinion for last weeks new releases for home viewing....here they are!!
SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING
Directed by John Watts
Screenplay by 5 writers ...No Shit....5
Starring Tom Holland; Michael Keaton; Marisa Tomei; Robert Downey Jr; Jon Faverau; Laura Harrier; and Jacob Batalon
Tom Holland has arrived as the new Spider-man!! This movie follows Spider-man as he tackles The Vulture (Keaton). He fights mentally with his place in the Avengers. He also has to find his way through the hallways and growing up in his high school.
If you read my blogs ...you already know I am Superhero "movied" out. Superhero movies feel too long, with lazy story lines, turning the movie theater into one big screen video game. So here comes the ...I guess the third re-imagining of Spider-man....and this one does a lot right.
Let me start with the script:
The script has Peter Parker spending more time in his high school, just being a high school teen and hanging out with his best buddy Ned than fighting bad guys. This really worked. This gave us character development. We also get to know the people around him, who we then, as the viewers, care about as much we care about Peter.
The fight scenes...like in many of the last superhero films...are over extended (I am looking at you the overrated Wonder Woman also), not in this Spider-man. The fight scenes are short and use less of that video game/CGI look during the battles.
I also liked how the script connected with the last Avengers film.This film drops us off right after the film....where Peter returns from the battle, and still struggles to find his place in the new world he now lives in.
Then there is the casting which is spot on:
Tom Holland is very good as Peter Parker. I forget sometimes he is British having to do all this with an American twang. He pulls Spider-man off as your everyday high school student, and by night he is still your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man.
Tom's costars in high school are great because they run the gambit of the hallways of a high school. The Crush (Liz ...played by Harrier, but a little bit underused). Jealous bully (Flash played wonderfully by Tony Revolori). Outcast cool (Michelle ...fantastic!! Played by Zendaya.) Best friend (Ned .Who takes on the viewers eyes, as he watches his friend climb ceilings, wonderfully played by Batalon). All these young actors make this film rise above the dredge of the superhero films released in the last couple years.
The connections or link between this film and the last Avengers film...with cameos by Downy Jr and Evans is well done. It is done softly, well as soft as Ironman can be.. Yes both are cashing in, but both are very good and funny and clearly are not just mailing it in. Also the wonderful Faverau returns as Happy Hogan, he is great and very funny just trying to babysit Parker from a distance.
Then there is a wonderful performance by Michael Keaton as Toomes/The Vulture. He is not sinister. He is just an angry businessman. Who is going to cash in by selling these arms and no one will get in his way. He is just surviving. So he plays the part spot on. He is bad, but you kind of feel his struggles. He just goes about things the wrong way. See the credits!!
Problems? Yes.
- I bring this up often. Where is the tension for our superheros? The end game will be okay. Spider-man falls from high heights, but he falls, rolls over and gets up. They do not die (as of this date), yes Superman dies but did he really(See new JLA). Yes I understand kids are watching, but remember the adults are paying the cash and it seems like there really is no fear for our superheroes. So they put the superheroes friends in jeopardy. Still a bone has to break when you fall off big buildings at some point. OKAY!!! I know!!! Relax it is make believe....but after awhile I feel like during fight scenes I can leave the theater and comeback 10 minutes later and not miss a thing because the hero never gets hurt. No tension.
-Last problem. Marisa Tomei as May Parker. Barely in this film!! You have Marisa Tomei, you cannot find room for her in the script!!
Well 4 out of 5 stars for Spider-man Homecoming. 4 stars for a person who is "Superhero'd" out is pretty good.
GIRLS TRIP
Directed by Malcom D Lee
Screenplay by 3 writers!
Starring: Queen Latifah; Regina Hall; Jada Pinkett Smith; and Tiffany Haddish
Four college roommates, Ryan (Hall), Sasha (Latifah), Lisa ( Pinkett-Smith), Dina (Haddish), get back together for a girls trip to New Orleans. Where good times begin and deep personal issues come to the surface.
You cannot think about this film without thinking about the movie that came out before this...Rough Night. Rough Night was not very good...this film did a lot right and it wins you over.
Positives:
-Just great performances highlighted by Regina Hall playing the emotional part. She becomes almost the straight "woman"as the film moves on. Tiffany Haddish is flat out hilarious. In fact Haddish walks a fine line between annoying and funny and she pulls it off. Latifah is more of the motherly figure. Pinkett-Smith starts as the straight "woman" surrounded by the humor, but she relinquishes that to Hall as the film move on (no spoilers here).
-Though some parts of the script is preposterous....see concert scenes...it stays real. You feel what each character is going through.
-They went R. And was not afraid of it. They went big...no pun intended...and earned it. So many films are afraid of the R because they are afraid of losing that teen audience. No fear here. In fact you will never look at a grapefruit the same way again.
-Chemistry. You really believe these ladies could be friends. So casting is spot on.
Negatives?
- One big one and that is over two hours for this comedy. Waaaay toooo loooong. This really needed an editor. It needed to maybe pull back on one of the party scenes. Maybe that is a sign of the three writers being too many. There is a scene involving hard liquor and wild behavior that was not as funny as the rest of the film. Edit that long scene out and the film would have been stronger.
That being said...one of the funniest films of the year that is for sure....4 out of 5 stars for Girls Trip. It does everything that Rough Night could not. You come for fun. You come for laughs. You come for heart. It delivers. I would like to see these four in another film together...a part 2.
ONLY THE BRAVE
Directed Joesph Kosinski
Screenplay Sean Flynn; Ken Nolan; and Eric Warren
Starring Josh Brolin; Miles Teller; Jeff Bridges; and Jennifer Connelly
No explanation needed. The trailer says it all. The heroes that are The Granite Mountain Hot Shots.
You know going in it will not end well. Still it is oddly uplifting.
It does a lot right:
- Kosinski takes his time with developing the characters. He makes sure it is not about the deaths...it is about celebrating their lives. The story is really hold your breath intense and at times oddly soft and it works.
-Casting helps...
.......Josh Brolin. he smiles in this film playing Eric Marsh. Yes he smiles!!!! I cannot think of many movies where he smiles. In fact for a character who is doing rough..harsh work, he is rather soft with moments of bad temper. I am not saying he is amazing here but I am saying he is believable.
.......Jennifer Connelly as Amanda Marsh. Now she is Amazing!!!!!!!!! Oscar worthy Amazing!!!
She does not make as many films as she used to and you forget how great she is. I will let you see this film to see how good she is as the struggling wife of Eric Marsh.
There are a couple problems:
-With all the time used for character development, not much time was used to explain what they are doing as they fight the fires. I just did not know. Think of The Martian. Yes The Martian was not real, but remember they took a lot of time showing you why they are doing certain technical stuff. You were in it with them. Here I never felt I was all in because I was confused about what was going on and why they were doing certain stuff.
-Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough. There was not one minute I saw him as a Hot Shot. I think he was miscast. He seemed almost clumsy. Sometimes pushing so much that he seemed to be over acting.
Let me get off the negatives. Yes it has that sad ending but it really is a great story...and it has some funny moments also. Go see this film...as we run from fires these brave souls run toward the fires. 4 out of 5 stars for Only The Brave.
