Review: “Friday the 13th” (1980)
Directed and Produced by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Victor Miller
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, Kevin Bacon, Ari Lehman
Music by: Harry Manfredini
Year: 1980
Friday the 13th.
A Nightmare on Elm St.
Halloween.
Child’s Play.
These are the films that influenced my opinion of horror as a child. Tacky, cheap-looking thrillers (that were often just cheap in general) that focused more on pop-up scares and implausible concepts that really instilled no sense of fear in me. Growing up, more than a few of my friends tried to get me to watch these movies. I refused. Not because I was scared (though I was possibly scared of finding out in front of all my friends that these movies scared me), but because I deemed them unworthy of my time. … Perhaps I was a bit of a pretentious snob at that age. Read more…
Review: “The Last House on the Left” (2009)
Director: Dennis Illadis
Produced by: Wes Craven, Sean S. Cunningham, Marianne Maddalena
Written by: Adam Alleca & Carl Ellsworth (screenplay)
Based on: The Last House on the Left by Wes Craven
Starring: Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Garret Dillahunt, Spencer Treat Clark, Martha MacIsaac, Sara Paxton
Music by: John Murphy
Year: 2009
Review is of a film that deals with a topic that may be disturbing to some viewers. The goal of this review was primarily to examine and compare the remake’s handling of the horrors of rape and murder with the original 1972 film’s treatment. SPOILERS are also present in the review.
The 1972 film The Last House on the Left became infamous for its intimate portrayal of torture, rape, and revenge — subjects that are still taboo to address in films today without a sensitive touch. Interestingly, largely due to the film’s brutality, the film went on to become a cult classic of the horror genre, a film genre not typically known for having a sensitive touch.
Personally, despite finding in it some admirable qualities, I didn’t much care for that film. However, aside from its advertising campaign, I did feel that the low budget production was, yes, shocking, but also tactful and sensitive in its handling of the grotesque but all too realistic depiction of the girls’ humiliation and pain before the film switched into more familiar territory as a revenge film. I can’t imagine that it was an easy task to film those scenes, and it stands as an example of a film, no matter the quality, that doesn’t necessarily have to be entertaining to have a justified existence. Read more…
“The Avengers” Trailer is Out!
If you were one of the more knowledgeable viewers who stayed until the end of Iron Man‘s credits in theatres just to see Tony Stark meet Nick Fury, you were no doubt excited by the possibilities his appearance hinted at.
Then, if you saw the end of The Incredible Hulk or even one of its trailers, you saw Tony meet with General Ross about his “unusual problem,” and maybe even heard the rumors about Captain America being hidden away in a deleted scene on the DVD, and you just knew Marvel was building up to something big.
Well, wait no more: After years of cameo appearances and little Easter eggs hidden throughout the introductory films, including an official teaser trailer, the official first theatrical trailer for director Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is here — and it’s awesome! Watch it in HD if you can!
… Yeah, I cannot wait for next summer.
Great Scenes: “Singin’ in the Rain” – Moses Supposes Tap Dance
Just a quick update today. I’ve been pretty tired with work and other related stuff, and today is my day off and I’m having a friend over whom I haven’t seen in a while, but I wanted to post something since it’s been a while!
So, today, I’m bringing you a video from a movie that made it to my favorites list, Singin’ in the Rain. Now, almost everybody knows the famous song and dance number to the song that gives the film its name, but how many modern movie audiences know some of the other, just as amazing musical numbers in the film?
Today’s video, which I sadly cannot find in an embeddable format, so please follow the deceptive link, shows just how this movie mixes humor, story, and musical numbers all in one. The background of the scene involves silent film star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) taking elocution lessons. Thanks to the release of The Jazz Singer, talkies are now all the rage, and the film Don was starring in has suddenly been put on hold to be reworked into a talkie itself. Don’s colleague and best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) comes in to speak to Don mid-lesson, and overhears the ridiculous tongue twisters Don’s being put through. It isn’t long before the two begin goofing off and teasing the instructor. It all culminates into a fantastic tap dance number that basically puts all other methods of procrastination to shame.
I loved this scene as a kid, primarily because of living Looney Tune Donald O’Connor’s hilarious faces, and as an adult, it’s still pretty frickin’ hilarious, with excellent timing on O’Connor’s part (ruined a bit by a bad editing gaffe causing the instructor to react twice to the same face, unfortunately). Then the musical number begins, and while it’s not the best song in the film, it suits the scene just fine. The real highlight is the dancing, however, with Kelly and O’Connor perfectly in tune with each other and really putting out a lot of energy. There’s a mixture of singing, dancing, and goofing around as they begin using every surface and prop in the room, including the poor instructor, who doesn’t quite know what to do with the two clowns.
You also have to appreciate a movie that basically acknowledges, “Yeah, we’re doing a musical.” This is one of the many songs that the characters sing that builds up into their decision to yet again convert their film, The Dancing Cavalier, into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier, and this scene is essentially just foreshadowing on the obvious — when you have actors this talented in song and dance, why not use those talents!?
If you haven’t seen this movie, go do so… NOW!
Review: “Contagion”
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Produced by: Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Gregory Jacobs
Written by: Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
Music by: Cliff Martinez
Year: 2011
If you’ve ever seen a disaster movie, particularly one by The Day After Tomorrow director Roland Emmerich, and knowing what the genre usually holds in store for audiences, you’d be forgiven for not expecting much from this recent take on the genre from Steven Soderbergh. Contagion makes use of many of the same tropes every disaster movie since Airplane opened in 1970: A big cast of well-knowns face an unrelenting threat from an out of nowhere force (usually of nature) that threatens the very existence of themselves and/or humanity.
In The Day After Tomorrow, it was Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, and several others facing global warming. Cue giant wave and running from the cold front. In Contagion, it’s Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, and many, many others facing a deadly, highly contagious disease. However, unlike most disaster films, Soderbergh takes a quieter, much more intimate approach and brings the tired genre up to a level that is at once riveting, emotionally resonant, and artfully produced. Read more…
Review: “The Last House on the Left” (1972)
Director: Wes Craven
Produced by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Wes Craven
Starring: Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jaramie Rain, Marc Sheffler
Music by: David Alexander Hess
Year: 1972
(Warning: This movie is likely to be found disturbing by many.)
This was actually kind of a hard review to write. One of the earlier mainstream movies to make use of its disturbing violence as not just a marketing strategy but a prime selling point, Last House‘s edge has definitely dulled in the nearly 40 years since its initial release, but the disgusting crimes committed on screen remain disturbing as ever. Read more…
Fifteen Minute Freewrite #2… in 3D
So, Disney has just announced that they’re going to be releasing even more 3D conversions of classic films in the coming years, thanks in large part to the success of The Lion King in 3D the past few weeks. As of this writing, the film is still in the #3 spot at the box office, though for two weeks or more it held the top spot, and it’s likely to set the home market on fire again thanks to today’s Blu-Ray release.
What’s particularly astounding is that this is both good news for animated films of the 2D nature and also, possibly, a good sign for 3D films. While Sony has announced plans to charge audiences yet another premium for using the glasses starting in February, Disney has found another way to convert 3D film tickets into money by converting their older films. Re-releasing movies in theatres is hardly a new thing, especially for Disney, but charging a premium probably seems counterproductive. The Lion King would beg to differ.
Sony must be nuts if it thinks charging more for unproven films that are made in 3D. Disney’s re-releases of Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid, Monsters, Inc., and Beauty and the Beast (already on Blu-Ray and about to be released in 3D on the home market, too!) have already proven to be classics that everyone loves, so it makes sense that Disney would follow the success of The Lion King with these four films.
Then again, the first two Toy Story films didn’t do so hot when re-released in 3D, and that was building up to the surefire hit Toy Story 3, which was simultaneously released in 3D and performed under expectations. That the first two films’ performances convinced Disney to hold off on re-releasing Beauty and the Beast in 3D around the same time just confuses me, though it’s plausible that the apparently poor translation into 3D that they did on those films has been updated using the newer conversion tech they used on The Lion King, and I’ve already heard good things about it at a test screening.
I write all this to say… I have no idea what’s going on. I do have to clock back in, however…
Review: “Saw”
Director: James Wan
Produced by: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Written by: Leigh Whannell (screenplay), James Wan & Leigh Whannell (story)
Music by: Charlie Clouser
Starring: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell, Leigh Whannell
Year: 2004
I never thought I’d ever get the courage to watch a film in this series. The Saw franchise has been said to be the beginning of mainstream horror films becoming profoundly morbid with sadistic displays of gore and torture for gore and torture’s sake. The trend has become so prevalent that there’s even a mainstream term for this subgenre: “torture porn.” Lovely. Read more…
The Viewer’s Commentary: Now on Twitter
That’s right. I’ve joined the throngs of masses and signed up for a Twitter account. Now go hit the Twitter equivalent of the “Like” button. I fully expect my readership to jump about a bazillion percent! That’s how it works right? ‘Cause that’s how many people there are and Twitter gets things done, right? … I’m new to this!
“Night of the Living Dead” in HD – Watch it now for FREE!
It’s October! And that, of course, means it’s time for scary movies! So why not start the month off right by watching the low-budget zombie movie that set the standard, Night of the Living Dead?
Though the female characters are mostly quite useless — with one hysterical character causing catastrophe and the catatonic Barbra in particular being nothing more than a ragdoll at times, the film was particularly progressive for casting Duane Jones, a black man, as the lead character and hero, an uncommon and potentially controversial decision in 1968. Though Romero claims that Jones simply gave the best audition, the film gains a subtle racial subtext, starting a trend for later entries in the series to tackle other social matters.
The film also predates the MPAA rating system we’re all familiar with today, so the amount of gore at the time was a cause for concern, with nobody, including children, being excluded from buying tickets. It’s rather tame by today’s standards for a horror film, and perhaps a bit cheesy, too, but the film stands out as a moody, B-movie classic.
Thanks to the distributor failing to abide by the copyright laws of 1968, this cult classic is in the public domain and is free to watch and edit as you see fit! Below is the video embed of the original version in HD. Turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and enjoy.
The Viewer's Commentary 