cult film freak: November 2012

Written by James M. Tate / 11/30/2012 / No comments / 2012 , alicia silverstone , amy heckerling , comedy , haley bennett , joe dante , malcolm mcdowell , satire

AMY HECKERLING'S VAMPS & JOE DANTE'S THE HOLE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jdl20vu3jVk/ULfS7RE_kgI/AAAAAAAATJo/1uYCnAHfbFs/s1600/vamps1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jdl20vu3jVk/ULfS7RE_kgI/AAAAAAAATJo/1uYCnAHfbFs/s640/vamps1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">title: VAMPS year: 2012 cast: Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Malcolm McDowall rating: *1/2</td></tr>
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The saying “They don’t make ‘em like they used to” usually refers to really great movies – but it can also be said for those really bad ones that start out intentionally cheesy and keep piling it on… and on and on and on…Well here’s an attempt to revive “Cringe Cinema” to younger audiences…   <br />
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We begin with two pretty girls waking up in plush coffins. They’re vampires and talk like your average airhead teens. But it turns out one of them dates back to the 1800’s... <br />
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Alicia Silverstone’s Goody is just that. Passive and non-violent, she only bleeds filthy rodents, never humans, and had lived many years but fell in love only once during the 1960’s to a hippie radical who, now older, is in the form of (a noticeably aged) Richard Lewis.  <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--cXrTY4vGIc/UkUzVHf6CUI/AAAAAAAAayM/PsIGBpevAY0/s1600/vamps2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--cXrTY4vGIc/UkUzVHf6CUI/AAAAAAAAayM/PsIGBpevAY0/s640/vamps2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krysten Ritter as Stacy</td></tr>
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And then there’s Stacy, played by Krysten Ritter, the more naïve of the two as she falls in love with a fellow college student with the last name Van Helsing, whose father (Wallace Shawn) may finally have a reason to wield that wooden stake again.<br />
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Unlike Goody, who recalls historic events like they were only yesterday, Stacy had changed twenty years ago and her memories go back only to the 80’s and 90’s, the era when writer/director Amy Heckerling reigned: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH is one of the best high school sex comedies ever made, and CLUELESS shaped 90’s teen cinema. But VAMPS fails on almost every level, trying much too hard to be modern with references to social websites, iphones and ipads; while the constant jabs at the ever-maligned Right are much too forced (and distractingly slanted) even for Hollywood. <br />
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The Vamp girls live an idyllic existence, roaming from nightclubs to their apartment and are sporadically summoned by their leader, Cisserus, who revives their everlasting clock. Iconic actress Sigourney Weaver plays the bloodthirsty siren leaving a trail of corpses at her wake (including Pizza guy Taylor Negron from RIDGEMONT) and hams it up to an embarrassing level. On the lighter side, the usually formidable Malcolm McDowell tones down Vlad the Impaler, part of a group of reformed flesh-eaters who gather at a "Bloodsuckers Anonymous" meeting (harboring another FAST TIMES veteran Scott "Arnold" Thomson). McDowell is collecting a paycheck here, and alas, it’s probably not a big one.   <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYFmzH_Wqwo/UkUzcHuHUiI/AAAAAAAAayU/ViGK-DoGamE/s1600/vamps3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYFmzH_Wqwo/UkUzcHuHUiI/AAAAAAAAayU/ViGK-DoGamE/s640/vamps3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian Bakker (Mark Ratner from FAST TIMES) as a possible victim</td></tr>
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There’s a joke a minute, and few are funny. Attempting to spoof bad b-movies, VAMPS becomes one in itself. The glossy cinematography resembles a straight-to-video release while the special effects are the kind of Computer Generated fare you’d see on a cheesy You Tube video.  <br />
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But there are two sides to the coin. One aspect of really bad horror flicks is that once you start, you can’t stop watching. This will make you stay tuned in, to see if it can get any worse. It does and often comfortably so. <br />
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Alicia Silverstone, who looks great twenty years after CLUELESS, is sweetly likable as the Vamp with a bleeding heart of gold. She may have to sacrifice herself for her best friend, who, having found true love, might have a real (if shortened) future. If anything else, you’ll believe these “young ladies” really care for each other. It’s too bad they don’t have anything really funny to do, or say, in the ninety minute eternity herein.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">title: THE HOLE year: 2009 cast: Haley Bennett, Chris Massoglia, Nathan Gamble, Bruce Dern rating: **</td></tr>
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Notable directors from the 70’s and 80’s who, for whatever reason, haven’t worked in a while, recently turned-in movies that haven’t lived up to their past successes… or failures: The John Landis outing BURKE AND HARE has average moments and a fun buildup but ultimately gets lost, never sure if it’s a comedic satire or a gory thriller with comedy thrown in. John Carpenter’s THE WARD plays out like a mediocre cable movie and Joe Dante, whose horror classics PIRANHA and THE HOWLING led to a successful collaboration with Steven Spielberg in GREMLINS and then a hit/miss string with EXPLORERS, INNERSPACE and THE 'BURBS, has a new – or relatively new – film titled THE HOLE.<br />
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Set in a middle class neighborhood, a family consisting of a single mother, teenage son and his little brother move into a two-storey house where, in the center of the dark basement is a nailed door covering a mysterious Hole which, once unlocked, leads into a shrouded oblivion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Looks like a pretty big plothole to me."</td></tr>
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The boys are Dane and Lucas, and unlike the kids who build the spaceship in EXPLORERS, they lack the creative spark to keep the intrigue going. Their sexy next door neighbor Julie, by her looks alone, moves the pace along: the trio films inside the Hole but, later on, can’t make out much more than foggy images on the TV set. <br />
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Soon they forget about this phenomenal enigma until weird stuff starts occurring around them. And here’s where the story picks up some, and Joe Dante’s talent as a suspenseful director comes in handy…<br />
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The palpable inner-fears of each kid lurks within darkened rooms, sneaking around shadowy corners backed by fitfully tense music... A dead girl stalking Julie is scarier than the clown puppet that hunts down Lucas (POLTERGIEST, anyone?)... But the puppet, more stop-motion than C.G.I., is reminiscent of the good old days when special effects looked more awkward and eerie than digitally streamlined. Although it’s an intriguing premise, the problem with THE HOLE is the acting – while Chris Massoglia looks the part of a leading young man, he’s way too lethargic in an intense predicament. His expressions hardly change from scene to scene, which makes the escalating weirdness seem secondhand for the audience to partake.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haley Bennett as Julie</td></tr>
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Haley Bennett fairs better as the damsel in distress (although there needed more distress), and young Nathan Gamble doesn’t seem scared enough, especially when being attacked by that demonic clown. Their mother (Teri Polo) comes and goes while cameos by Dante stock actors Bruce Dern (THE 'BURBS) and Dick Miller (GREMLINS) are a nice distraction but ultimately serve as filler to the proceedings.  <br />
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The ending, after Dane finally journeys into The Hole to face his own ultimate fear, is a bit too “out there,” resembling Joe Dante’s possessed kid segment of THE TWILGIHT ZONE MOVIE, sharing the bizarre nightmarish world where cartoons and Film Noir collide. This aesthetic at least carries the Dante signature. Too bad the story and acting falls considerably short. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Massoglia as Dane</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bruce Dern provides exposition</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Miller cameo as a spaced-out pizza man</td></tr>
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2012, alicia silverstone, amy heckerling, comedy, haley bennett, joe dante, malcolm mcdowell, satire

AMY HECKERLING'S VAMPS & JOE DANTE'S THE HOLE

title: VAMPS year: 2012 cast: Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Malcolm McDowall rating: *1/2 The saying “They don’t make ‘em like the...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/29/2012 / No comments / bruce willis , eighties , malcolm mcdowell

MALCOLM McDOWELL SPOOKS A BREEZY SUNSET

bruce willis, eighties, malcolm mcdowell

MALCOLM McDOWELL SPOOKS A BREEZY SUNSET

Malcolm McDowell bleeding in SUNSET You never quite know where CLOCKWORK ORANGE icon MALCOLM McDOWELL will turn up. After the Stanley K...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/27/2012 / No comments / dennis hopper , don marshall , gary lockwood , nichelle nichols , scott wilson , sixties , star trek , TV , woody strode

LIEUTENANT UHURA IN GENE RODDENBERRY'S THE LIEUTENANT

dennis hopper, don marshall, gary lockwood, nichelle nichols, scott wilson, sixties, star trek, TV, woody strode

LIEUTENANT UHURA IN GENE RODDENBERRY'S THE LIEUTENANT

Pre STAR TREK starlet Nichelle Nichols guests on THE LIEUTENANT Gene Roddenberry's groundbreaking STAR TREK made Nichelle Nichols, w...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/26/2012 / 2 Comments / disaster , ensemble , george c. scott , jean rasey , robert wise , roy thinnes , seventies

THE HINDENBURG

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RUXGBqa-dek/ULPzzDZE5AI/AAAAAAAASuI/Xs2yEHJmGjs/s1600/hindenburg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RUXGBqa-dek/ULPzzDZE5AI/AAAAAAAASuI/Xs2yEHJmGjs/s640/hindenburg1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1975 cast: George C. Scott, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes, Burgess Meredith rating: ***</td></tr>
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Disaster films have several things in common: they all wind up with a disaster and each has a bevy of famous actors playing people that will either live or die.<br />
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In THE TOWERING INFERNO everyone wound up on the top of a high-rise that caught on fire. In TITANIC, people of all classes boarded a really big boat headed for an icy doomsday and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE provided an eclectic lot on a tipped-over ship, desperately searching for daylight.<br />
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Here we have THE HINDENBURG, based on the actual German Zeppelin that crash landed in 1937. “Oh the humanity” indeed… The infamous visual of the blimp crashing in flames embodies the real life tragedy – a nightmare image for the history books and thus becoming another Hollywood film.   <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9fr198D-OZI/UqOdF-DlZHI/AAAAAAAAbmw/jawPAWQIfQs/s1600/hindenberg2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9fr198D-OZI/UqOdF-DlZHI/AAAAAAAAbmw/jawPAWQIfQs/s640/hindenberg2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George C. Scott as Ritter</td></tr>
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After a documentary reel describing the origin of the hot air balloon, the first act is somewhat dull since not all the peripheral characters are worthy investments. These include society folk, an entertainer, a Dalmatian, and Germans under the growing Third Reich.<br />
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But a few of the Germans are wary of Hitler, especially George C. Scott’s “Ritter,” a reluctant rogue specialist sent aboard the aircraft as a surreptitious security guard. William Atherton’s former Hitler Youth member and Roy Thinnes charming Nazi agent know that Ritter’s someone to keep their eyes on – and vice versa.  <br />
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So now we have two prime suspects, but for what exactly? The Hindenburg’s demise was said to be the cause of a lethal combination of electricity and hydrogen, but we’re dealing with not only a fictionalized account but an espionage tale… How else do you spend 90 minutes aboard a vessel we know will crash without suspense, intrigue, and most important of all, mystery? <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ObS3OzhqJTY/UqOdMYwqpTI/AAAAAAAAbm4/_Nf7vILGHKA/s1600/hindenberg9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ObS3OzhqJTY/UqOdMYwqpTI/AAAAAAAAbm4/_Nf7vILGHKA/s640/hindenberg9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roy Thinnes is a most likely suspect</td></tr>
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That’s when (and how) the pace picks up – Ritter honing in on which passenger could be the person that had, days earlier, threatened to sabotage the craft. Other suspects include Gig Young as a greedy salesman and Burgess Meredith as a rich gambler. Although it’s really Atherton’s wily Boerth, sneaking around the craft’s upper decks in a very suspicious manner, that seems the prime target.    <br />
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What’s needed now is a love interest – well there’s one, sort of. THE GRADUATE temptress Anne Bancroft is an opium smoking classy German who flirts with Scott, but that’s as far as it goes. He’s too busy investigating and they had little chemistry to begin with.<br />
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Bancroft, like many of the passengers and crew, including Charles Durning’s hard nosed pilot and Katherine Helmond’s snotty socialite, are a wasted lot. Perhaps because, unlike INFERNO or POSEIDON, they don’t have specific goals or relationships to make their characters intriguing once the stakes are raised.  <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuZ2rpMk4tM/UqOdQQQe0yI/AAAAAAAAbnA/xhriIwnY5kw/s1600/hindenberg5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuZ2rpMk4tM/UqOdQQQe0yI/AAAAAAAAbnA/xhriIwnY5kw/s640/hindenberg5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burgess Meredith and Anne Bancroft</td></tr>
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Despite the flaws, director Robert Wise provides a few nice suspenseful scenes: one includes part of the zeppelin’s hull ripping and two soldiers having to repair it. Here we see dynamic Matte paintings of the craft soaring through blue skies, providing special effects that, while not perfect to today’s standards, make the titular sky-bus seem enormous and ominous.<br />
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Another has Ritter, in James Bond mode, having to disarm the bomb that could send the craft, and everyone on board, into oblivion. The Oscar Winning actor wields his usual edgy prowess, and is finally, in a movie full of paper cutouts, someone to actually root for.      <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivVWaAeb30A/UqOdUpyw25I/AAAAAAAAbnI/z0oyprEqzD8/s1600/hindenberg11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivVWaAeb30A/UqOdUpyw25I/AAAAAAAAbnI/z0oyprEqzD8/s640/hindenberg11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special effects of the 1970's were a blessed thing</td></tr>
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And then the disaster itself – the Hindenburg’s inevitable crash onto the landing pad… And what the audience is waiting for...<br />
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Shot in black and white with flashes and choppily edited photographs, the special effects aren’t only rushed and cheap looking but practically non-existent: providing an anti-climactic conclusion and making those scenes when George C. Scott remained in the dark really matter.  <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Rasey signs on board</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RlyQE7KUvQQ/UKrXBW4iXMI/AAAAAAAAR0A/nj6N1whS5kc/s1600/hindenberg4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RlyQE7KUvQQ/UKrXBW4iXMI/AAAAAAAAR0A/nj6N1whS5kc/s640/hindenberg4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gig Young, suspect</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bumtw-m6D0k/UKrXE1qYUuI/AAAAAAAAR0Q/COa1-aKd8Vs/s1600/hindenberg6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bumtw-m6D0k/UKrXE1qYUuI/AAAAAAAAR0Q/COa1-aKd8Vs/s640/hindenberg6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roy Thinnes, suspect</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0qu8poOPQOA/UKrXF66LU_I/AAAAAAAAR0U/H5XaaPxbuXo/s1600/hindenberg7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0qu8poOPQOA/UKrXF66LU_I/AAAAAAAAR0U/H5XaaPxbuXo/s640/hindenberg7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Atherton, suspect</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBmmMr9savE/UKrXK7J4LmI/AAAAAAAAR0k/MaNQDl67PLA/s1600/hindenberg8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBmmMr9savE/UKrXK7J4LmI/AAAAAAAAR0k/MaNQDl67PLA/s640/hindenberg8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">List of dead and alive..</span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #073763;">.</span></b> <a href="http://www.doesthedogdie.com/">and the dog lives!</a></td></tr>
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disaster, ensemble, george c. scott, jean rasey, robert wise, roy thinnes, seventies

THE HINDENBURG

year: 1975 cast: George C. Scott, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes, Burgess Meredith rating: *** Disaster films have several things in comm...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/24/2012 / 1 Comment / 2012

LIFE OF PI

2012

LIFE OF PI

year: 2012 cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan rating: *** Strangely enough, this adventure about a young man from India who survives a...

LARRY HAGMAN WAS A SUPER ACTOR: REST IN PEACE

LARRY HAGMAN WAS A SUPER ACTOR: REST IN PEACE

The late Larry Hagman in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE Sad day today, as actor LARRY HAGMAN, known mostly for playing a good guy on I DREAM OF JEA...

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uBn8bLNvrds/ULBGMVFe1fI/AAAAAAAASSI/ISGrGcl1unc/s1600/Rise-of-the-Guardians-7-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uBn8bLNvrds/ULBGMVFe1fI/AAAAAAAASSI/ISGrGcl1unc/s1600/Rise-of-the-Guardians-7-008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2012 <b>voices:</b> Chris Pine, Alec Baldwi<b>n rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr>
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The true meaning and/or reasons behind every holiday are one thing, but those mythological mascots we’ve become accustomed to are all that matters in RISE OF THE GUARDIANS. Thanks to the Man on the Moon (God with a face), the Guardians were given the chance to bring happiness to children – protecting them from that terrible thing called Fear. But we’re skipping ahead. First let's introduce the characters at hand... Santa Claus we all know; but you’ve never seen him like this. Big, boisterous and tattooed, this Russian Chris Kringle seems like a tavern bouncer and he’s the leader of the pack, mainly because of his strength and girth, but he’s got the vehicle to get everyone around. The reindeer-driven sled is something of a bionic jalopy with a hyper-drive option. <br />
<br />
The Easter Bunny, more of a jackrabbit on steroids... with an Australian accent and the bravado of an intrepid mercenary... has a lot more guts than brains and thinks too highly of his Egg-painted holiday, which everyone knows – including himself, deep down – pales to a White Christmas.<br />
<br />
There’s the Tooth Fairy, a pointy nosed Tinkerbell dressed like a lizard imitating a colorful bird, with plenty of tiny fairy soldiers, who not only collect teeth in exchange for money but those teeth hold every child’s inner thoughts and dreams, or something weird like that.   <br />
<br />
Then the Sandman: a cute fat little guy whose small size is made up for in strength and purpose: He’s the one who puts kids to sleep with sweet dreams... But not all dreams are sweet...<br />
<br />
Enter the villain, Pitch, a tall shadowy dude wielding literal Night Mares (ominous black horses) to scare the wits out of children worldwide. He wants to rule the world for no other reason than the story needing a formidable antagonist to get the group together. <br />
<br />
And now for the main character, and how the story begins...<br />
<br />
A teenager (resembling Peter Pan with white hair), floating up through a dark freezing lake,  rises onto the surface and realizes his frolicking power is to turn everything into ice and snow. His name is Jack Frost and no one can see him, nor do they believe in him (let's just say kids take the weather for granite).<br />
<br />
But Jack is the key here and the only hope to save the world. His backstory is something we wait for, providing him an edge over the others: he  becomes the hero going up against the Nightmare Machine practically on his own... At least for a little while.   <br />
<br />
The main problem with RISE OF THE GUARDIANS is how long it takes for what turns out a very simple battle – the Guardians verses Pitch – to occur. There’s so much expository dialog about the characters and their purpose for each holiday and/or ritual thereof, kids in the audience might need their own Cliff’s Notes to understand exactly what’s going on.<br />
<br />
It takes a few action sequences, like the sled taking off from the North Pole in a freestyle toboggan slope, to make up for over-explaining the basic theme: children needing "imaginary" heroes to fight their fears, without which there’s little hope.  <br />
<br />
If anything, the actual RISE itself isn’t all that important. It takes too long to happen and can be downright tedious, especially with a villain lacking substantial purpose or motivation.<br />
<br />
The inevitable fight against that dark foe is what really matters, but make sure your kids are prepared because the depiction of nightmares possibly taking over the world may cause real ones.

2012, alec baldwin, chris pine, computer animated

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

year: 2012 voices: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwi n rating: **1/2 The true meaning and/or reasons behind every holiday are one thing, but th...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/23/2012 / No comments / ken hutchison , list

FIFTEEN MAIN CHARACTERS DENIED TOP BILLING

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QtHxCTqVzmA/UKr7Zu2T8NI/AAAAAAAAR2c/rdwAktGlaFQ/s1600/superman1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QtHxCTqVzmA/UKr7Zu2T8NI/AAAAAAAAR2c/rdwAktGlaFQ/s640/superman1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1) CHRISTOPHER REEVE (SUPERMAN)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Christopher Reeve was a no-name actor when chosen to play the Man of Steel in the 1978 film, and Marlon Brando was the type of egotistical megastar to demand top-billing even in a small (but not insignificant) role as Superman’s doomed father. Gene Hackman (Lex Luther) also got credit over Reeve… and this isn’t the only time…   </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDCYDodwNzo/UKr7dm2BddI/AAAAAAAAR2k/CCJt-3-_6hA/s1600/superman2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDCYDodwNzo/UKr7dm2BddI/AAAAAAAAR2k/CCJt-3-_6hA/s640/superman2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2) CHRISTOPHER REEVE (SUPERMAN II)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Once again, Christopher Reeve failed to land first billing as SUPERMAN. Gene Hackman gets lead status, followed by Reeve, who would finally get primary credit in SUPERMAN III. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Ex31gLqnk/UKr7hR0MY4I/AAAAAAAAR2s/w7ck07_RPgE/s1600/goodfellas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Ex31gLqnk/UKr7hR0MY4I/AAAAAAAAR2s/w7ck07_RPgE/s640/goodfellas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3) RAY LIOTTA (GOODFELLAS)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Wheeler-dealer Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, stars and narrates the epic mob classic about working class hoods in the New York mob while RAGING BULL brothers Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci get billed over the unknown, who only appeared in a handful of films including SOMETHING WILD as the scene-stealing villain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3bLMVmBe94M/U71oEyZZ-CI/AAAAAAAAgp8/Abo-hjzIO4g/s1600/SHEEN1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3bLMVmBe94M/U71oEyZZ-CI/AAAAAAAAgp8/Abo-hjzIO4g/s1600/SHEEN1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4) MARTIN SHEEN (APOCALYPSE NOW) AND CHARLIE SHEEN (PLATOON)</td></tr>
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 Keeping it in the family with father and son, and to start off, another example of Marlon Brando, not in the lead role, landing on top of the bill, even though the mission belongs to Martin Sheen, who comes in third after THE GODFATHER vets Brando and scene-stealer Robert Duvall... Followed by Martin's son Charlie, the main trooper in Oliver Stone's Oscar winning Vietnam flick PLATOON, taking third place after his loggerhead leaders Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe... </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AugYQ1NI1Ws/UKr7oylAqYI/AAAAAAAAR28/7pZRO8gHp9M/s1600/workinggirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AugYQ1NI1Ws/UKr7oylAqYI/AAAAAAAAR28/7pZRO8gHp9M/s640/workinggirl.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5) MELANIE GRIFFITH (WORKING GIRL)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver, two science-fiction icons, get status over working class lass Melanie Griffith, who the movie’s obviously about.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_PnHgwpzV4/UK8zUWYOnRI/AAAAAAAASMc/LPCrT1FCmAk/s1600/large_broadcast_news_blu-ray_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_PnHgwpzV4/UK8zUWYOnRI/AAAAAAAASMc/LPCrT1FCmAk/s640/large_broadcast_news_blu-ray_13.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6) HOLLY HUNTER (BROADCAST NEWS)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
William Hurt as a flighty but successful newbie newscaster and Albert Brooks as a cynical reporter beat out the real star, Holly Hunter, whose hyper-active, hard working yet socially awkward network producer was not only robbed of the credit status, but the Oscar as well. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4FaKOGrcTNU/UKr7y1GW35I/AAAAAAAAR3M/W7FQOweOOU8/s1600/batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4FaKOGrcTNU/UKr7y1GW35I/AAAAAAAAR3M/W7FQOweOOU8/s640/batman.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7) MICHAEL KEATON (BATMAN)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Michael Keaton was a known actor but mainly for comedy films. He’s billed after Jack Nicholson (The Joker), who also landed the biggest paycheck.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mPDQlXWcUr4/UKr72lnALSI/AAAAAAAAR3U/_e2Na8_-xk8/s1600/animal+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mPDQlXWcUr4/UKr72lnALSI/AAAAAAAAR3U/_e2Na8_-xk8/s640/animal+house.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8) TIM MATHESON (ANIMAL HOUSE)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
John Belushi would sadly become a “legend” a few years later after a fatal drug overdose, but in 1978, being one of the most popular Not Ready For Prime Time Players on the original SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, he receives front runner status as Bluto in this John Landis college party classic, even though his character’s used sparingly while Tim Matheson’s smooth-talking Otter is the main Delta.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e-8d1gKJFrA/UKr76y4CQrI/AAAAAAAAR3c/vpu-7EjAWKM/s1600/fast-times-leigh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e-8d1gKJFrA/UKr76y4CQrI/AAAAAAAAR3c/vpu-7EjAWKM/s640/fast-times-leigh.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9) JENNIFER JASON LEIGH (FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Jennifer Jason Leigh’s freshman Stacy Hamilton is the main character; even Tom Petty sings her theme song “American Girl” on the first day of school… But here we have another sporadic mascot, played by Sean Penn, receiving first star billing... over Jennifer and several other cast members (including Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates) with more important roles.    </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4v7JWFwUog/UKr7-88kuyI/AAAAAAAAR3k/GlSTQUdCbM4/s1600/midnight+cowboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4v7JWFwUog/UKr7-88kuyI/AAAAAAAAR3k/GlSTQUdCbM4/s640/midnight+cowboy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10) JON VOIGHT (MIDNIGHT COWBOY)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
It takes at least twenty minutes for Dustin Hoffman’s streetwise conman Ratso Rizzo to appear – then he disappears and reappears into the tragic New York City life of Jon Voight’s wannabe gigolo Joe Buck. But since THE GRADUATE star was the box office draw, and Voight (having beat out Lee Majors for the part) was a nobody, the little guy headlined. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PrpAgdtX3y4/UKr8B9BSPII/AAAAAAAAR3s/qdVdnEipsxA/s1600/alien.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PrpAgdtX3y4/UKr8B9BSPII/AAAAAAAAR3s/qdVdnEipsxA/s640/alien.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11) SIGOURNEY WEAVER (ALIEN)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Tom Skerritt gets first billing over Sigourney Weaver, who not only turned out to be the luckiest crew member but wound up in every sequel thereafter. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_9Ts7ugRYQ/UKr8Ey3-wrI/AAAAAAAAR30/_3gf199AFZA/s1600/necromancy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_9Ts7ugRYQ/UKr8Ey3-wrI/AAAAAAAAR30/_3gf199AFZA/s640/necromancy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12) PAMELA FRANKLIN (NECROMANCY)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Orson Welles lands the hefty lead credit in this Bert I. Gordon witchy thriller about a coven seeking out a beautiful young woman, played by Pamela Franklin, who the movie's all about. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbiKRBHAfTQ/UKsBDOUYkEI/AAAAAAAAR6E/FV4jVKSwR_k/s1600/title01_20001515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbiKRBHAfTQ/UKsBDOUYkEI/AAAAAAAAR6E/FV4jVKSwR_k/s640/title01_20001515.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">13) KEN HUTCHISON (THE WRATH OF GOD)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This could be arguable since Robert Mitchum’s boozing cigar smoking priest is important to the storyline of contraband smuggling con artists, but perhaps it’s an opportunity to give mention to this reviewer’s favorite STRAW DOG Ken Hutchison, as the main character everything, and everybody, centers around. The saddest part is Ken’s pretty far down on the opening credit list, with another actor's name above his. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2fyvQm4sp7o/UKtMItJ4waI/AAAAAAAAR70/9APy2sGiYGY/s1600/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-screenshot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2fyvQm4sp7o/UKtMItJ4waI/AAAAAAAAR70/9APy2sGiYGY/s640/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-screenshot.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14) CHARLES BRONSON (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
It's only after Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda and Jason Robard's name appear do we get Charles Bronson who, still a character-actor before hitting his stride, plays a mystery man named "Harmonica," the central character in this moody Sergio Leone epic Western. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UI8oQZs37Fg/UKr8SCv75DI/AAAAAAAAR4M/qLNR9i6HTp0/s1600/batmanrobin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UI8oQZs37Fg/UKr8SCv75DI/AAAAAAAAR4M/qLNR9i6HTp0/s640/batmanrobin1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15) GEORGE CLOONEY (BATMAN AND ROBIN)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Let’s end this first volume with another comic book movie – one of the worst ever made. Wimpy caped crusader George Clooney comes in second to Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose Mr. Freeze is as wooden as he’s icy. Yet you can bet all cast members wanted zero billing once this turkey took flight.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kkf5ISoyr8o/UKr8Wx-6bbI/AAAAAAAAR4U/NmNUWVUW1Nc/s1600/batmanrobin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kkf5ISoyr8o/UKr8Wx-6bbI/AAAAAAAAR4U/NmNUWVUW1Nc/s640/batmanrobin2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MAIN CHARACTERS DENIED TOP BILLING LIST BY JAMES M. TATE</td></tr>
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ken hutchison, list