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alecdjackson
Reviews
The Black Hole (1979)
Always enywrtaining
Apart from the cast being able to breathe in space, the effects are OK, for the time, certainly the limited cgi isn't as bad as Star Trek the movie (I point you to the space station listening post)
One of my main criticisms is the John Barry score, it all feels to waltzy. The action scenes are dull and laborious because of the less than exciting score...not something I usually think about Barry scores
Hellboy (2019)
Great TV series pilot
I truly thought the film would be dreadful, given reviews. But, after watching it I saw the embryo of a terrific TV series, possibly something to put in the supernatural slot when that ends. Unlike the Del Toro movies, it isn't cinematic. Is this due to the director? Maybe, definitely hampered by a script that is so derivative it could have been stolen from a dozen other movies. Acting? Like the ensemble trio of main characters, the villain; boring and one dimensional. Hellboy trying to find a place where all worlds can live together, great, son of doodaa....who gives a toss! Alice, great character but not complete enough. Good attempt but should look better on the small screen.
Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)
Another leg in a very long journey, Frodo's journey for vampires and lycans.
When Underworld first came out, it was exciting, innovative and held enough of an interesting story to make me want to see another chapter...the 5th chapter is just that, another chapter. It was OK, neither terrible nor amazing. It seems we have now demoted two of folklore's most enduring monsters to a "beverley hill 90210" type of generation. Yes there is blood and occasional gore but nothing really gripping anymore. One of the more interesting chapters was Underworld 3 which explored the origins of the Corvinus clan and the birth of both Vampire and Lycan. This chapter doesn't add nor detract from its self contained pantheon and if another one does come along no doubt I'll watch it. But don't expect anything too special. There is a yoda character to Selene's "Amidala" character, there is the "sith lord" and the usual suspects of traitors and "surprising" twists. BUT it's about as scary as "Take Hart", don't watch it with the lights off....why bother, to unless you have a migraine? As for the Lycan Marius....can't get over thinking of him as the pathetic Game of throne's pathetic Stark Banner-man Lord blah-blah- blah.
Warp Speed (1981)
After 20 years this is still stuck in my head!
I remember watching this on VHS one weekend around the mid to late 80's and thought it was rubbish; but, after 20 years I still remember the film, not for how rubbish it was but because of the sense of overwhelming menace that it exuded. The plot wasn't the best, the acting was full of more ham than your local butcher's shop and the effects.....well I think I could do better with a couple of broken hairdryers and a roll of sellotape! What really sticks is the mood and general eeriness of the film and the awfully executed but effectively thought out end. It's incredible that this film should have become of my own folklore but it worked in a dreadful, kind of way.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Marginally original.
I thought, maybe it's about time I watched this. It's been a while since it came out, maybe it will be good; Joss Wheedon is involved, it must be better than average. How wrong I was. I'm not sure where this film fits but it could be re-titled goosebumps and had Jack Black starred in it then it would have been almost as interesting. OK the techno version of a ritual sacrifice is minimally interesting and the commercialization of the "product" for the old gods has some merit but this "horror" film lacks both heart and horror. It is like an intellectual experiment in re-visioning horror movies. Sorry, Joss, this might not be quite a stinker but put it in the same box set as films like "Mausoleum", "Gamer", "Superman Returns", "Mission to Mars" and "Robocop 3", you could possibly put "The Kindred" in there as well just for a laugh.