'ULTERIOR-MOTIVE SCIENTIST/DOCTOR MAKES DIFFICULT SITUATION WORSE' TRIPLE PLAY! 022.- THE NEW MUTANTS (2020, FX MOVIES). Streaming on DISNEY+.
Four teenagers with still-developing mutant abilities are held against their will at a medical facility led by a mutant scientist (Alice Braga's Doctor Reyes) to teach them how to control their superpowers. The arrival of a fifth orphan teen, Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt), triggers something in the group that gradually turns them against each other before they decide to work together to defeat a common enemy... besides you-know-who. An "X-Men" spinoff made on the cheap, "The New Mutants" was already a notorious troubled production before Disney's purchase of Fox and the COVID-19 pandemic put it out of its/our misery. A young Anya Taylor-Joy and blink-and-you'll-miss-him Adam Beach deliver the best performances, but co-writer/director Josh Boone has limited resources to try and pull off a 'PG-13' superhero action/horror hybrid that never quite gels together. Fans of "X-Men" comic book lore will recognize a few characters and story callbacks, but most average viewers can feel how empty the creative tank was when Fox suits greenlit this flick. 2 CHURCH STEEPLES FULL OF OSHA VIOLATIONS (out of five).
Quick-to-anger high school student Tony Rivers (played by then-21-year-old Michael Landon) has a short fuse and outbursts of violence that threaten his relationship with girlfriend Arlene (Yvonne Lime), his clique of friends (rock-n-roll parties after school) and his freedom due to local cops eyeing him as a potential criminal. With the right mental health treatment Tony could have been helped, but Dr. Alfred Brandon (a hammy Whit Bissell) is only interested in bringing out the animalistic regression buried beneath Tony's subconscious via a combination of serum and hypnotherapy. Played straight by an earnest cast and made with minimal artistic flourishes by a workmanlike 50's crew, "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" feels more like a tragedy than a drive-in creature feature. The make-up is 'meh,' the resolution at the end feels rushed, and you know if this didn't have its catchy title and Michael Landon as the lead, it would have been completely forgotten by now. A decent way to kill 75 minutes without having much to show for it. 3 GYMNASTIC PARALLEL BARS (out of five).
024.- DEAD KIDS, aka STRANGE BEHAVIOR (1981, INDICATOR 4K UHD). Streaming on ROKU CHANNEL, PLEX, FAWESOME.
An Australian horror movie shot in New Zealand trying to pass as being made/set in the USA (featuring recognizable actors like Michael Murphy, Marc McClure and Louise Fletcher in prominent roles), "Dead Kids" (released in the States as "Strange Behavior" with a couple of minutes removed) is an odd duck in that mood/atmosphere of dread in small town America are better calling cards than its handful of slasher-type killings perpetrated by normal high school students. The restored-in-4K widescreen transfer in Indicator's release makes the cinematography shine. Except for a memorable attack at a dress-up party the violence feels restrained for '81, though the gradual reveal of Dr. Le Sange (Arthur Dignam) as inspiration for college study shenanigans pays off at the end. 'It's fine.'3 COCA-COLA SIGNS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK (out of five).
BONUS: 30 DAYS OF PINK PANTHER & FRIENDS, DAY 5! 025.- THE PINK PANTHER: PINKFINGER (5/15/65, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
An offscreen narrator (Paul Frees) eggs the Pink Panther to become a secret agent (complete with raincoat/hat similar to Inspector Clouseau's) and bust criminals and secret agents plotting terrorist activities on the city. An obvious riff on "Goldfinger," "Pinkfinger" alternates between the Panther beating the bad guys at their spy game while also being the butt of the narrative's jokes/gags. It's a rare instance of a P.P. cartoon using on/offscreen voices to interact with the always mute Panther. 4 BANANA PEELS ON A BUILDING BALCONY (out of five).
16-year-old Alison and two of her friends play with a makeshift Ouija board, which gives Alison a warning not to go to her 19th birthday party or she will be in danger. Fast forward two and a half years, Alison lives in another town but her family insists she come home for her birthday. Could there be something sinister going on? Yes.
An Aussie folk horror that really takes its time and the mystery here isn't very mysterious, but I liked how it ended and the cinematography and sound occasionally manage to build a creepy vibe.
'ULTERIOR-MOTIVE SCIENTIST/DOCTOR MAKES DIFFICULT SITUATION WORSE' TRIPLE PLAY!
ReplyDelete022.- THE NEW MUTANTS (2020, FX MOVIES). Streaming on DISNEY+.
Four teenagers with still-developing mutant abilities are held against their will at a medical facility led by a mutant scientist (Alice Braga's Doctor Reyes) to teach them how to control their superpowers. The arrival of a fifth orphan teen, Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt), triggers something in the group that gradually turns them against each other before they decide to work together to defeat a common enemy... besides you-know-who. An "X-Men" spinoff made on the cheap, "The New Mutants" was already a notorious troubled production before Disney's purchase of Fox and the COVID-19 pandemic put it out of its/our misery. A young Anya Taylor-Joy and blink-and-you'll-miss-him Adam Beach deliver the best performances, but co-writer/director Josh Boone has limited resources to try and pull off a 'PG-13' superhero action/horror hybrid that never quite gels together. Fans of "X-Men" comic book lore will recognize a few characters and story callbacks, but most average viewers can feel how empty the creative tank was when Fox suits greenlit this flick. 2 CHURCH STEEPLES FULL OF OSHA VIOLATIONS (out of five).
023.- I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957, YOUTUBE)
ReplyDeleteQuick-to-anger high school student Tony Rivers (played by then-21-year-old Michael Landon) has a short fuse and outbursts of violence that threaten his relationship with girlfriend Arlene (Yvonne Lime), his clique of friends (rock-n-roll parties after school) and his freedom due to local cops eyeing him as a potential criminal. With the right mental health treatment Tony could have been helped, but Dr. Alfred Brandon (a hammy Whit Bissell) is only interested in bringing out the animalistic regression buried beneath Tony's subconscious via a combination of serum and hypnotherapy. Played straight by an earnest cast and made with minimal artistic flourishes by a workmanlike 50's crew, "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" feels more like a tragedy than a drive-in creature feature. The make-up is 'meh,' the resolution at the end feels rushed, and you know if this didn't have its catchy title and Michael Landon as the lead, it would have been completely forgotten by now. A decent way to kill 75 minutes without having much to show for it. 3 GYMNASTIC PARALLEL BARS (out of five).
024.- DEAD KIDS, aka STRANGE BEHAVIOR (1981, INDICATOR 4K UHD). Streaming on ROKU CHANNEL, PLEX, FAWESOME.
ReplyDeleteAn Australian horror movie shot in New Zealand trying to pass as being made/set in the USA (featuring recognizable actors like Michael Murphy, Marc McClure and Louise Fletcher in prominent roles), "Dead Kids" (released in the States as "Strange Behavior" with a couple of minutes removed) is an odd duck in that mood/atmosphere of dread in small town America are better calling cards than its handful of slasher-type killings perpetrated by normal high school students. The restored-in-4K widescreen transfer in Indicator's release makes the cinematography shine. Except for a memorable attack at a dress-up party the violence feels restrained for '81, though the gradual reveal of Dr. Le Sange (Arthur Dignam) as inspiration for college study shenanigans pays off at the end. 'It's fine.' 3 COCA-COLA SIGNS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK (out of five).
BONUS: 30 DAYS OF PINK PANTHER & FRIENDS, DAY 5!
Delete025.- THE PINK PANTHER: PINKFINGER (5/15/65, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
An offscreen narrator (Paul Frees) eggs the Pink Panther to become a secret agent (complete with raincoat/hat similar to Inspector Clouseau's) and bust criminals and secret agents plotting terrorist activities on the city. An obvious riff on "Goldfinger," "Pinkfinger" alternates between the Panther beating the bad guys at their spy game while also being the butt of the narrative's jokes/gags. It's a rare instance of a P.P. cartoon using on/offscreen voices to interact with the always mute Panther. 4 BANANA PEELS ON A BUILDING BALCONY (out of five).
Alison's Birthday (1981, dir. Ian Coughlan)
ReplyDelete16-year-old Alison and two of her friends play with a makeshift Ouija board, which gives Alison a warning not to go to her 19th birthday party or she will be in danger. Fast forward two and a half years, Alison lives in another town but her family insists she come home for her birthday. Could there be something sinister going on? Yes.
An Aussie folk horror that really takes its time and the mystery here isn't very mysterious, but I liked how it ended and the cinematography and sound occasionally manage to build a creepy vibe.
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