movie review – Author Carlo Carrasco

A Look Back at The Blob (1988)

January 26, 2024January 16, 2024carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching the film and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, movie buffs, science fiction fans and geeks! When it comes to making remakes or reimagined versions of established movies from previous decades, the 1980s was indeed a special time to watch them. In 1986, The Fly (directed by David Cronenberg) was released and it made a tremendous impact on moviegoers in ways that the original 1958 movie did not.

Remember when The Blob was first released in 1958? That classic film (read my retro review by clicking here) went on to have a forgettable sequel released in the 1970s but got remade big time with a new version in 1988 simply titled The Blob.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at The Blob, a sci-fi horror movie released in 1988 starring Shawnee Smith and Kevin Dillon, written by Chuck Russell, Frank Darabont, Kaye Linaker and Irving H. Millgate, and directed by Chuck Russell.

Early story

The story begins in the town of Arborville where many locals attend an exciting football game. High school player Paul (Donovan Leitch, Jr.) asks cheerleader Meg (Shawnee Smith) to a date. Elsewhere, the troubled guy Briann Flagg (Kevin Dillon) fails with his attempted stunt as a result of his flawed motorcycle which was witnessed by an elderly vagabond. Flagg goes back to town and encounters the local sheriff (Jeffrey DeMunn) who warns him about trouble.

That evening at the outskirts of town, a meteorite crashes within the forest which the elderly vagabond pursues. With strong curiosity in his mind, the old man uses a stick on a sizable body of slime mold substance (the blob itself) that came out of the crashed meteor. Suddenly, the substance moves and sticks to the elderly vagabond’s hand causing him great pain.

A short time later in the forest, Brian Flagg got surprised by the sudden appearance of the vagabond who desperately tries cutting off his own hand. The blob, which Brian saw for the first time ever, attaches itself even more on the old man causing him to run away until he gets hit by a car (with Meg and Paul inside)…

Quality

*The blob in this movie looks more menacing as it has a tumor look and the special effect work remains excellent to look at. You should also see the blob move and what it sounds like.*

This late-1980s remake of The Blob is not only more engaging and more entertaining than its 1958 predecessor…it is easily on of the best sci-fi horror movies of the 1980s thanks to a very talented creative team led by Chuck Russell.

To begin with, Russell and Darabont (this is the same great director behind The Shawshank Redemption), crafted a very solid screenplay that used key story elements from the 1958 classic while successfully updating everything else with 1980s America (or Ronald Reagan’s America) in mind. For this version, the three leading teenagers played by Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon and Donovan Leitch, Jr. were relatable and clearly worth following.

*(From left to right) Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon and Candy Clark in an early encounter with the blob.*

While the 1958 movie emphasized American teenagers being disadvantaged as local adults don’t take them seriously (even though the youth knew the problem and intend to solve it), this remake moved away from the generational gap as it strongly focused more on the crisis of a fast-growing blob that simply won’t stop killing people and destroying things. In other words, this is a crisis-focused monster story that is more violent, more horrific, more action-packed and more graphic than its predecessor.

I should also state that Russell and his team established a solid structure for storytelling and the narrative flowed on a medium-to-fast pace. As this movie has more spectacle in terms of action, monster moments and the like, the creative team carefully balanced the fun stuff with the dramatic and exposition scenes smoothly.

*If you see people wearing protective suits arriving in your community and implementing a lockdown, you know a crisis is in effect.*

The cast here is solid! Shawnee Smith’s Meg is the sweet, young good-natured high school girl who is willing to not only survive but also take part in solving the crisis situation not for herself but for her family and the entire Arborville community. Meg has some common elements with that of the character Sarah Connor from The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I also love the fact that there is NO WOKENESS and NO RABID FEMINIST VALUES in Meg. Kevin Dillon’s Brian – the troubled youth – is clearly the 2^nd lead and he does a good job dramatizing how his character changes from a guy of uncertainty into an actual doer whose efforts proved to be valuable. There definitely is a non-romantic chemistry between Meg and Brian as the crisis situation really brought out solid transformations from them respectively.

The supporting cast is really good too. Candy Clark’s Fran is the relatable community diner owner/manager who contributed nicely to the plot as well as the early showdown of the blob. Jeffrey DeMunn’s sheriff is the local law enforcer who has to deal with the local situations while tackling the challenges of his leadership post. Paul McCrane here plays a local cop who is tough but not necessarily abusive, and this is the same guy who played a very vicious bad guy in 1987’s RoboCop! Joe Seneca is the government scientist who has charisma and deception carefully blended together which added to the plot. You will even see Erika Eleniak in a very small and yet notable appearance that happens to involve the blob. This film has a really interesting cast and I encourage you to research the names mentioned here.

*This remake is loaded with action scenes, stunts and incredible visual effects!*

On the technical side of things, I really like the cinematography done by Mark Irwin as the visuals captured looked really detailed and clear even during the dark or night-time scenes. The music by Michael Hoenig was pretty good too and his tunes ranged nicely from creepy to sentimental and energetic which reflected the scenes. As for the design of the blob, Lyle Conway deserves the credit for making it very monstrous. As for the physical environment of the movie, the state of Louisiana turned out to be a great location and the real-life Louisiana town Abbeville added strongly to the small town concept of the story.

As mentioned earlier, this version has a lot more spectacle to enjoy. For one thing, there is a good amount of hard action, gunfire and stunts which really added to the excitement (on top of the suspense and horror scenes already implemented). Rest assured, you will not get bored at all when watching this.

*Shawnee Smith is the protagonist in this movie and her performance is very memorable.*

The highlight of the spectacle is the very blob itself which looks so much like a tumor (instead of the jello form in the 1958 version) and the credit goes to the visual effects, sound effects and the animation team behind it all. Compared to its counterpart in the 1958 film, the blob here is very monstrous and horrifying to watch and the way it got animated is excellent. Apart from being unrelenting, this blob is deadlier and even intelligent. Not only does the blob devour the living which adds to its tremendous growth of size and mass, it also has the ability to extend tentacles which added more to the danger. Thanks to the sound effects, the blob is believably animalistic.

Through the blob’s on-screen presence, you can see the hard work implemented by the special effects crew when showing the monster entirely move and devour people, when showing its flexibility on adjusting its size (or its parts) when entering new places through tight spots, and most notably, how the blob alters the flesh of the victims it touches which resulted in very horrifying visuals. The special effects team really excelled with the use of practical effects (read: no computer-generated images) on presenting the titular monster. This is indeed a special effects extravaganza that a lot of people are missing out on.

Conclusion

*The Blob (1988) looks and sounds better than ever in 4K Blu-ray format. I highly recommend this version as it is so much better than streaming.*

There is no doubt in my mind that The Blob (1988) is a great sci-fi horror film that has a more menacing monster complete with sufficient action, great visual effects and a pretty solid cast! This is indeed a great example of a how a remake of an established film from the past should be done and this also includes raising the stakes within the story, modernizing past cinematic elements and ensuring high entertainment value. What director Russell, his team and the cast collectively achieved is indeed a creative success and this is the kind of film that Commie-filled Hollywood (Commiewood) today does not want to make.

As a companion piece to The Blob (1958), this remake has the good stuff that people who love horror, science fiction, action and monsters will enjoy.

Of all the many movies I have seen, The Blob (1988) stands out as one of the best remakes ever made as well as one of the best mixed-genre movies of its decade as well as of all time. That being said, today is a great time to watch this movie with better-than-ever visuals and sounds through its 4K Blu-ray release (pictured above) which is now available (you can order it online now). There is also a lot of features and extra stuff with the 4K Blu-ray. Make no mistake, The Blob (1988) is great to watch and its replay value is pretty high.

Overall, The Blob (1988) is highly recommended.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

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A Look Back at The Blob (1958)

November 3, 2023November 3, 2023carlocarrasco

Welcome back, movie buffs, science fiction fans and geeks! Some of you might have heard about the news about the recent release of the collector’s edition 4K Blu-ray of the movie The Blob (1988). For the newcomers reading this, The Blob (1988) was a remake of the original movie from 1958.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at The Blob, a sci-fi horror movie released in 1958 starring Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut, written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson, and directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. (Irvin Yeaworth for short). This was a low-budget local-level production by Valley Forge Films, Fairview Productions and Tonylyn Productions.

Early story

The story begins somewhere within a small town in Pennsylvania. During one evening, teenagers Steve Andrews and Jane Martin spend a romantic time together in a car only to be disturbed when a meteorite from outer space crashes nearby. This easily sparks Steve’s curiosity as he decides to drive to find the spot of the crash taking Jane with him.

Meanwhile, an old man who happened to be living near the spot of the crash went out of his home and finds the meteorite first. Out of curiosity, he pokes the meteorite with a stick which slowly causes it to break open revealing a gelatinous substance (the blob) inside. He uses the stick on the substance, lifts it up and examines it closely. Against gravity, the substance suddenly moves up the stick and wraps itself on the old man’s hand causing him to become desperate to remove it. He failed.

As Steve drives down the road, the old man with the blob suddenly crosses down their path. The old man tells Steve to take him to a doctor…

Quality

*Steve McQueen (3rd from left) as teenager Steve Andrews with Earl Rowe (2nd from right) as Lt. Dave and other over-aged actors playing teenagers.*

I can say that I really like this old movie which has always been an independent, low budget production that made a solid contribution to the sci-fi genre and pop culture in general.

To begin, this film has a simple plot about an alien creature in the form of a gelatinous blob from outer space which attached itself into an old man’s hand, grew a lot when the man made it to the doctor, and then started consuming people which made it grow so big, life in the town got disrupted and people found themselves in danger. Unsurprisingly, the blob itself does not dominate the narrative considering the limitations the filmmakers had on making special effects work plus they focused more on the characters to move the plot forward. Rest assured, however, that the production team went all out with their limited resources on making the monster look menacing in the final fifteen minutes. I should state that the special effects team did a convincing job with the way they made the blob move to specific directions.

Given the simple plot, it is not surprising to see the narrative focusing more on the characters particularly with teenagers Steve and Jane (both played by obviously over-aged actors Steve McQueen and Aneta Corseaut). The story clearly follows the two mentioned teenagers who have the best knowledge about the blob and what happened, and it just so happens that they are always at a disadvantage when asked by adults to prove things.

With a monster that large within the local community, you know that something must be done before it causes further damage and kills more people. The blob was portrayed to be unrelenting in consuming and killing people which causes it to grow even bigger and with no limits determined. The blob does not care at all about the pain and anguish of its victims which parallels the evil of Communism/Marxism/socialism/anti-Semitism in real life.

*Jane (Aneta Corseaut) and Steve (Steve McQueen) with the local doctor (Stephen Chase) early in the film.*

The interactions between teenagers (note: Steve McQueen and Aneta Corseaut are not the only over-aged looking actors playing youth) and the mature authorities (local police, parents, educator and house keeper to name some) dramatized a gap in which the youth lacked credibility while the adults remain difficult to convince. Very notably the backward car race early in the film symbolically reflects the Hollywood film trend of the 1950s in which American teenagers are portrayed to be troublesome and living without real purposes.

Going back to the protagonists Steve and Jane, the screenplay was designed to highlight what good teenagers can do when a crisis strikes the local community and why the adults should get over their doubts about the youth.

Given the structure of the script, there are a lot of talk scenes throughout and the progress of the blob growing as a menace within the plot helped break the monotony. While he is clearly too old to play a teenager, Steve McQueen here remains convincing as a youth who strives to achieve something worthy even as he lacks maturity. The same can be said about Aneta Corseaut whose character was designed to help Steve move forward apart from having romance with him. When her character feels troubled, Steve comes in to support her in return. If you ignore their mature looks and focus on the dialogue, you will find convincing lines of youth within Steve and Jane. The same can be said about the other teenagers.

*Considering the low budget and the limitations of technology at the time, the man-made practical effects in this movie are still good.*

*I can say out loud that watching movies inside the cinema is always better than streaming. The best way to enjoy a movie at home, on the other hand, is with physical media like Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray.*

While McQueen and Corseaut performed well, there were some moments of stiff acting and lifeless delivery of lines of dialogue scattered throughout.

Those of you who are so used to fast-paced films with thrills and jump scares, you should temper your expectations as this movie moved at a slow-to-medium pace with very little horror elements and very little violence. As this was a low-budget local-level production, certain shots had to be made with very obvious creative shortcuts. Even though this movie was filmed on several locations in Pennsylvania, the filmmakers failed to establish a true sense of geography and this means no scenic shots.

Going back to the blob itself, its jello appearance may not look menacing at first and there were times when the lack of scale (note: they did not have equipment to achieved the depth-of-field visual effect) was noticeable. What I liked here is the way the blob was portrayed – unrelenting and totally immune to the emotions and concerns of people it encounters. The blob here somewhat reminds me of the T-800 in The Terminator (1984) in the sense that it simply would not stop to attack people, consume them and then keep on growing into one very large mass which causes a crisis on the small town community.

*In case you are wondering, there were accidents that happened during the memorable scene of moviegoers running out of the cinema in the film. The tripping of some people were purely accidental.*

When it grabs someone and starts to consume the victim physically, the blob does not care about the pain it causes on its prey. While it is clear that the movie’s script was written during the early stages of the Cold War, it is possible that the blob served as a symbol of Communism infiltrating America, endangering people and taking their lives (and liberties) away. That being said, the rampant Leftist influence and social violence in the minds of millions of Americans today makes this film socially relevant and the blob’s threat has gotten even more symbolic. Lastly, I should state that composer Ralph Carmichael managed to come up with music to emphasize the threat of the blob.

Conclusion

In my honest opinion The Blob (1958) is still a good movie to watch and it deserves its place in film history as well as in the sci-fi genre of movies in general. While it had its shortcomings, this low-budget local-level production managed to be a worthy viewing experience and set the foundation for its movie franchise (note: a sequel was made in 1972 and the memorable remake of 1988 followed). To say the least, this movie paved the way for Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell to produce the 1988 remake that was very intense and a lot of fun to watch.

*The Blob (1958) in Blu-ray disc format from The Criterion Collection. This is the best way to enjoy the movie at home.*

The blob itself went on to inspire creative imitations (referred to as blobs or ooze) and new monsters in other forms of entertainment (note: the blob appears as one of the monsters in the 1982 Intellivision game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain). Steve McQueen himself went on to become one of Hollywood’s elite stars in the decades that followed and this film should interest both die-hard fans and any film buff who wants to learn more about him.

Overall, The Blob (1958) is recommended.

+++++

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576

A Look Back at Creepshow (1982)

August 11, 2023August 9, 2023carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching the movie and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back fellow geeks, pop culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Way back in 1982, the horror comedy anthology film Creepshow was released in cinemas featuring the combined talents of author Stephen King and the late director George Romero who were clearly inspired by the 1950s horror comic books published by EC Comics. That being said, Creepshow was a comic book movie that was not even based on a comic book.

To make things clear, the movie was first shown on the big screen in France during the Cannes Film Festival in May 1982. The comic book adaptation of Creepshow (note: read my retro comic book review) was released in July 1982 and the art it contained is not the same as the in-movie comic book (also titled Creepshow) that appeared in transition scenes. The movie’s general release in America happened on November 10, 1982 and it was successful commercially and critically. In recent times, Creepshow was released on 4K Blu-ray with lots of extra stuff for fans and moviegoers to enjoy. The said 4K Blu-ray release can be ordered online now.

Some of you might be wondering if the Creepshow movie has aged well and what exactly does it offer for younger moviegoers and movie collectors to enjoy. Some of you might be wondering if King and Romero were ever a special creative duo for cinema.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at the horror-comedy anthology film Creepshow (1982) directed by George Romero, written by Stephen King and starring Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris and more.

Early stories

Prologue – A father very angrily berates and hits his young son after discovering the horror comic book titled Creepshow was with him. The father called the comic book’s content crap.

Father’s Day – Sylvia Grantham, her nephew Richard, niece Cass and Hank (husband of Cass) enjoy time together at the Grantham estate anticipating the arrival of Bedelia for the annual family dinner. There is a dark secret regarding Bedelia and her late father…

The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verril – A lonely farmer named Jordy witnesses the unexpected arrival of a meteorite from out space which landed violently on his farm. After realizing what it is, he touches it without any protection and gets his fingers burned…

Something to Tide You Over – a prominent man named Richard visits Harry at his home. It turns out, Harry has been having an affair with Richard’s wife Becky. Even so, Richard maintains his cool and made clear his uncompromising determination of always keeping what is his. Richard plays an audio recording of Becky’s voice which even includes a call for Harry to help her….

The Crate – In the basement level of Amberson Hall (science building of Horlicks University), a janitor accidentally finds a very old wooden crate located right under the staircase. The writings “Ship to Horlicks University via Julia Carpenter – Arctic Expedition – June 19, 1834” were marked on the crate…

They’re Creeping Up on You – A cruel businessman named Upson Pratt is alone in his well-lighted apartment. He has been suffering from mysophobia and has been living in isolation and only communicates with others using the telephone and other electronic methods. Slowly but surely, cockroaches begin to multiply in his apartment…

Quality

*Two couples from different short stories of the movie: At left were Hal Holbrook and Adrienne Barbeau. At right were Elizabeth Regan and Ed Harris.*

To begin with, I’d like to focus on the combined creativity of Stephen King and director George Romero. While all five short stories, the prologue and epilogue each have varying levels of quality, engagement and entertainment value, it is safe to say that Creepshow as a whole remains entertaining and intriguing to watch. This is a cinematic horror-comedy anthology that is still fun to watch from start to finish.

Very clearly, the King-Romero team were heavily inspired by the EC Comics-published horror comics of the 1950s and along the way, they added their own creative touches to make each short story not only unique but also memorable. Given the fact that Romero remains remembered for his zombie movie works, two of the five short stories can be viewed as shorter zombie tales by the director but with notable differences – the comic book-inspired visuals used (note: moody lighting, stylish backgrounds and comic-inspired frames) and the fine performances from the actors involved. As for the three other short stories that have nothing to do with zombies, I felt they reflected more of Stephen King’s concepts (note: King himself acted as Jordy) which Romero apparently directed to be reflective of the author’s works while still injecting EC Comics-inspired visuals. Speaking of comic books, the filmmakers used traditional animation (note: hand-drawn) specifically in the transition scenes when the movie moved from one segment to the next. Within the context of the movie was the comic book Creepshow which made the father mad at his son.

*With moody lighting combined with Leslie Nielsen’s convincing terrified expression, this image captures the look and feel of similar moments in the horror comic books of EC Comics.*

As it is clear that each short story has different concepts and varying levels of quality, entertainment and engagement, I can describe them in short results as follows: Father’s Day really looks and feels like it was written for EC Comics in the 1950s; The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verril is a clever mix of dark humor, science fiction and horror; Something to Tide You Over is very intriguing to watch and Leslie Nielsen pulled off a very unique portrayal of a villain; The Crate is a fine combination of monster horror and struggling characters with a university setting; and They’re Creeping Up on You is symbolically a socialist mobbing against someone powerful in the most unusual fashion, and it definitely is the weakest of all the five short stories as it was made to disgust viewers who are afraid of bugs. Creepshow’s prologue and epilogue meanwhile carried an anti-family theme that supposedly reflects the moral outrage against EC Comics in the 1950s made to resonate with people who love comic books at the expense of morality and family. I personally dislike the anti-family theme because I truly believe that minors should never read adulterated comic books and they should never become rebellious.

As each short story, the prologue and epilogue were strongly presented to be entertaining and engaging in varying ways, there is one aspect of the creativity that made Creepshow stand the test of time – the respective performances of the actors.

Leslie Nielsen’s portrayal of the villain Richard is the performance highlight of the entire film. Here’s a powerful man dealing with pain as a result of being betrayed by his wife by being in full control of his emotions and he keep moving on with uncompromised determination to proceed with his diabolical plans patiently and orderly. He is a very angry man who happens to be very calm. He is definitely evil who happens to be very principled. You will even see little traits of comedy in Richard and this should remind you of Nielsen’s eventual move into comedy in his later years. In the same short story, Ted Danson is believable as the man who had the affair with Richard’s wife.

In another short story, Adrienne Barbeau really stands out as the obnoxious and unhinged Wilma (AKA Billie) who is the complete opposite of her mild-mannered husband Henry (played by Hal Holbrook). She is so wild, she easily embarrasses her husband and the others who were present in the faculty social gathering. Quite symbolically, Barbeau’s act as Wilma is easily the most lively thing to watch in the said gathering. Without spoiling the plot of The Crate short story, I can say that Hal Holbrook has a nice range of displaying emotions within Henry as the story progressed. Even the guy who played the professor Dexter Stanley (Fritz Weaver) had his own share of the spotlight and displayed a good acting range as well.

Even author Stephen King himself acted in a leading role in another short story as Jordy. King is surprisingly good in being comedic and he really knows his character in and out. In the first short story Father’s Day, you will see a very young Ed Harris as part of a family waiting for the arrival of Bedelia (Viveca Lindfors). The waiting family members were nicely played by Elizabeth Regan, Warner Shook and the late Carrie Nye. They were convincing as relatives. In the final short story, the late E.G. Marshall played Upson Pratt to be so ruthless, he will irritate you.

Conclusion

*Comic book-style visuals implemented cleverly in the movie.*

It is clear that Creepshow (1982) remains fun and engaging to watch thanks to the combined creative efforts of the King-Romero team as well as the fine performances of the actors involved. Although the final short story starring E.G. Marshall is the least interesting tale to watch, this horror-comedy anthology has lots of good stuff to entertain viewers. By today’s standards, Creepshow (1982) is very unique and also fun to watch. If you want to see this movie with the best visuals possible today, I urge you to buy the 4K Blu-ray release.

Overall, Creepshow (1982) is highly recommended!

+++++

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576

A Look Back at Cloak & Dagger (1984)

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching the movie Cloak & Dagger (1984) and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back my readers, fellow movie buffs and 20^th century pop culture enthusiasts! Decades ago, I got to watch the movie Cloak & Dagger when it was first released on home video. As time passed by, I got to replay it on cable TV and DVD. I have yet to see its 4K Blu-ray disc version (note: you can order it here) Starring Henry Thomas (the star of Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) and Dabney Coleman, Cloak & Dagger was one of those American movies that did not succeed in movie theaters but found its audience on home video, cable TV and free TV.

The 1984 movie was released at a time when video games gradually made its way into motion pictures in varied ways just before Nintendo started reshaping video gaming. Back then, I was very young and already got into playing games on console and at the arcade which helped me relate with the video game elements of Cloak & Dagger. In case you are wondering, the filmmakers and Atari, Inc. itself collaborated together. There may be some among you who never saw this 1980s flick and some of you may be wondering what is significant about Cloak & Dagger and why is it the topic of this retro movie review.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Cloak & Dagger (1984) directed by Richard Franklin and written by Tom Holland and Nancy Dowd inspired by the short story “The Boy Cried Murder” written by Cornell Woolrich. This movie is the 4^th cinematic adaptation of the said short story.

*The movie poster of Cloak & Dagger (1984)*

Early story

The story begins with Jack Flack (Dabney Coleman) overcoming Soviet guards to enter a place to retrieve top secret documents from incoming people. It turns out that Jack Flack is nothing more than a fictional character imagined by a young boy named Davey (Henry Thomas) who keeps on immersing himself with flights of fantasies, loves playing games and believes that real life is filled with enough opportunities and places to play. In the presence of game store owner Morris (William Forsythe) and his little blonde neighbor Kim (Christina Nigra), Davey boasts a lot about Jack Flack as if he was a real-life hero and even talks to him as his imaginary companion that no one else could see nor hear. Inspired by the said character and the world of espionage he always imagined, the boy carries with him a black water pistol for a “gun” and a softball for a “grenade”.

Morris then sends Davey and Kim out to do a real assignment – an errand to travel within the city going to a certain company and retrieve something for him. Afterwards, the two commuted and entered a building which Davey does with his fantasy of espionage and infiltration burning in his mind. Leaving Kim on the ground floor, he climbs up the stairs until he reaches a certain window and sees something sinister going on in the next level as reflected on one of the windows outside.

Suddenly a door opens near him and a wounded man slowly hands him an Atari 5200 cartridge titled Cloak & Dagger, tells him to bring it to the FBI, and mentions “one million three hundred twenty nine.”

The door near them suddenly opens with two armed men emerging. Right in the presence of Davey, they opened fire at the wounded man who fell down to his death. Davey just became the witness of an actual murder and becomes the target of the two gunmen…

Quality

*Henry Thomas and Christina Nigra as Davey and Kim respectively.*

To get to straight to the point, I can declare that this movie is very clearly a spy thriller designed to engage both children and adults. It took the key concept of the short story “The Boy Cried Murder” and implemented it into its very own tale that happens to be set during Ronald Reagan’s America (the 1980s) with elements of video games, espionage and even murder mixed together.

The story told through Davey was crafted to be entertaining while keeping viewers in suspense as to how the overly imaginative young boy would deal with real-life danger and consequences as he became the target of murderous men who would not stop at all. Davey is clearly in danger for much of the movie and you will get to sympathize with him and wish he should stop being obsessed with fantasy so he could overcome the trials that were happening. This is, indeed, a well structure and nicely directed work by Richard Franklin who seem to be inspired by past works of Alfred Hitchcock (note: Franklin directed the sequel to Hitchcock’s classic Psycho).

As mentioned earlier, this movie was made to engage both children and adults. Cloak & Dagger is not exactly a wholesome viewing experience as its presentation has always been quite intense because of on-screen violence that was executed carfully. There are guns, shooting and even killing in this flick which proved to be integral to the overall presentation and clearly added to the thrill factor. You will get to see getting Davey shot at by the armed henchmen (Eloy Casados and Tim Rossovich) who clearly do not give a damn of shooting a minor as they are so focused on their mission. Looking at the henchmen in this film, I can imagine them as traitorous Americans conspiring with their nation’s foreign enemies such as the Soviets, the Iranians and the Palestinians. Along the way, there is the clear villain named Rice (Michael Murphy) who has this subtle touch of evil as well as a good amount of sleaziness in him. While the violence is intense, it does not necessarily push this film into rated R territory.

*Michael Murphy as the sleazy villain who is willing to kill Davey even though he is a minor.*

*The two henchmen about to commit murder in the presence of Davey. There is evil visible in their faces.*

Henry Thomas really shines as the protagonist here. While Davey here shares a few elements with E.T.’s Elliot – struggling to move forward with the absence of one parent and adjusting his life with what he perceives to be the best ways possible – he truly dramatizes how weird and wild he could be living his life with a very loose grip on reality. For him, local society in San Antonio, Texas, provides him a huge playground for his spy game and he sure distracts people as he walks by them talking to his imaginary friend Jack Flack. Still, there are key parts of the story in which Henry Thomas convincingly dramatizes Davey who feels lonely inside as he misses his late mother and is unable to spend quality time with his father. Thomas also acted with intensity in the scene in which he makes a trade with the villain and also during his last face-off with him in the 2nd half of the film. Henry Thomas really was a good youth actor and his performance here is often overshadowed by his role in Spielberg’s E.T.

Dabney Coleman on the other hand plays both Jack Flack and Davey’s father Hal. Coleman is quite versatile playing different characters here. As Jack Flack, he fits in excellently into Davey’s uncontrolled belief of espionage as he gives him advise which were taken seriously leading into danger. Of course, advising Davey does not really mean the fictional spy cares for him on a personal level and you will eventually Flack’s true value before the film ends. Flack’s final moments could inspire you to re-examine the true meaning of heroism. As Hal, Coleman convincingly plays the father who has been so busy working in the Air Force as an air traffic controller, he has been unable to spend quality time with his son and the recent death of his wife really took its toll on their family. Compared to Jack Flack, Hal is indeed caring towards his son but his hectic work schedule prevents him from bonding closely with him. Coleman delivered a fine performance during the scene when Hal explains to Davey what real-world heroism is and that not all heroes just shoot bad guys. There definitely are helpful values on parenting within Hal.

*Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman are really convincing as son and father.*

Thomas and Coleman artistically have really fine chemistry together as the father and son (Hal and Davey) and as the wannabe adventurer spending lots of time with his action hero (Davey and Jack Flack). Considering Davey’s obsession with fantasy and the attention he pays so much to Jack Flack, he was practically living with idolatry and foolishness. If you observe closely, Davey is very lively with Flack and not so lively with his father.

Even though this movie is fictional, it still dramatizes that parenting will never be easy. That being said, this should inspire parents and also incoming parents to prepare themselves on nurturing their children and ensure they help them understand the differences between reality and fantasy.

Video game elements

*Screenshot from the Cloak & Dagger arcade game. This game can be played nowadays through Antstream Arcade on Xbox consoles.*

To make things very clear, Cloak & Dagger (1984) is not an adaptation of the electronic game that was released the same year. Rather it has the Cloak & Dagger game as a key plot element in the form of an Atari 5200 game cartridge (referred to as a “tape”) which the movie dramatizes to be real.

As a kid, I got to play arcade and console games a lot. As such, seeing Davey play the Cloak & Dagger game on his Atari 5200 as well as gameplay footage was a very entertaining viewing experience for me the first time I ever saw this movie. It was a scene I personally related with.

In real life, however, the Cloak & Dagger game from Atari, Inc. was released only in the arcades as the efforts to create a port for the Atari 5200 never got fulfilled. That being said, it was through very clever film editing that video footage of the arcade version were inserted into the scene in which Davey played the Cloak & Dagger cartridge on his console in the presence of his father. To clarify things, the Atari 5200 was a commercial failure in real life and it seems that making a console version of the arcade game did not make business sense to Atari, Inc. at all.

If you want to play the Cloak & Dagger arcade game in your home right now, you will need an Xbox console and Antstream Arcade ($30 for 1-year subscription, $80 for lifetime pass). Cloak & Dagger is just one of over a thousand games available through Antstream Arcade and you can learn more by clicking here and here.

Conclusion

I have seen Cloak & Dagger (1984) many times throughout my life from childhood and to adulthood. I can clearly say that this 1980s movie is still really good to watch as its appeal to both children and adults remains strong and intact. It is a medium-paced spy thriller that not only follows a young boy who witnesses and murder and gets into danger (note: even his neighbor gets involved) but also dramatizes (in entertaining ways) how dangerous situations can get when you are living with uncontrolled personal fantasy and interacting with a heroic friend who does not really exist. Considering the time this movie was released, I am delighted to tell you cautious readers that there definitely is no wokeness nor were there any traces of political correctness that got in the way of its presentation. Going back to the parenting aspect of this film, it is made clear that children need their parents for moral support and there is absolutely no way that games, fictional heroes and geek culture could ever be good alternatives. Like the adults, children should never lose their grip on reality and should be taught that uncontrolled fantasy can lead to real-life danger. Very clearly, director Richard Franklin and the crew did a fine job telling a solid story and emphasizing the main characters while also providing suspense, action and thrills.

Considering all the mixed elements it has, Cloak & Dagger (1984) can be engaging towards parents, their children, fans of espionage and people who love video games. Finally, I should state that the City of San Antonio in the Lone Star State of Texas is indeed a great location for filmmaking and viewing.

Overall, Cloak & Dagger (1984) is recommended.

+++++

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Carlo Carrasco’s Movie Review: Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience

April 26, 2023May 9, 2023carlocarrasco

Welcome back, readers! For only the 2^nd time since the COVID-19 pandemic affected the world, I managed to watch a movie inside the local cinema at SM Southmall in Las Piñas City. What is intriguing is that the movie I saw is actually a carefully edited compilation of footage sourced from an upcoming live-action series that is an ambitious Philippine adaptation of a certain giant robot anime from Japan. The movie I saw was Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience. Behind it all, the movie is part of GMA Network’s strategy of building up awareness for the Voltes V: Legacy TV series set to launch on May 8, 2023.

For the newcomers reading this, the original Voltes V anime series (Japanese title: Chôdenji mashin Borutesu Faibu) was launched in Japan in 1977. Shortly after, it made its English language debut here in the Philippines (note: Japanese characters’ names were Westernized) and ultimately it became very popular and it made an impact on millions of Filipinos who saw it and replayed it in the many years that followed. I noticed that many Filipinos of my generation think of Voltes V first when anime comes to mind. While I myself never became a fan, I saw lots of Voltes V anime episodes on TV at a time when Internet access, video streaming and social media were not yet realized here in the Philippines. I even saw GMA’s edited Voltes V anime movie (containing footage of the final five episodes of the anime series) in the cinema in 1999.

In recent years, GMA Network and its local talents joined forces with Toei Company of Japan to create a live-action TV series adaptation of the anime and there will be eighty episodes (double the anime TV series’ episode count) for broadcasting nationwide. This is Voltes V: Legacy and already the local production team went through lots of hard work making the episodes, the sets, the props, the costumes and the computer-generated images (CGI) to bring the classic series into life in coordination with Toei which reviewed and supervised the production. A lot of money has been spent into Voltes V: Legacy which was felt in GMA’s increased production costs.

So far this year, Voltes V: Legacy is in the minds of many entertainment-loving Filipinos. Already the big TV series trailer opened 2023 with a loud bang attracting millions of views. Toei Company itself was delighted and expressed thanks to the Filipinos for their support of the anime.

As for Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience, the so-called movie contains varied footage allegedly from the first three weeks’ worth of TV episodes and it was exclusively screened in SM Cinema sites around the country for a limited time.

With those details laid down, here is my review of Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience directed by Mark A. Reyes and written by Suzette Doctolero with a cast composed of Miguel Tanfelix (Steve Armstrong), Radson Flores (Mark Gordon), Matt Lozano (Big Bert Armstrong), Raphael Landicho (Little Jon Armstrong), Ysabel Ortega (Jamie Robinson), Martin Del Rosario (Prince Zardoz), Liezel Lopez (Princess Zandra), Jeffrey Quizon (Zuhl), Carlo Gonzalez (Draco), Gabby Eigenmann (Commander Robinson), Albert Martinez (Dr. Smith), Carla Abellana (Mary Ann Armstrong), Christian Vasquez (Emperor Zambojil), and Dennis Trillo (Hrothgar/Ned Armstrong).

Early story

The story begins in the planet of Boazan where people with horns live in prosperity and privilege while those without horns have no choice but to live a hard, lower life. A gifted young Boazanian man named Hrothgar – who was born into royalty without horns and lived with his personal secret long enough into adulthood – was exposed by Zambojil’s group to be hornless and unworthy of Boazan’s throne. Sometime later, Hrothgar leads several fellow slaves and prisoners in an uprising against Emperor Zambojil’s authority. Before getting overwhelmed by the imperial forces, Hrothgar escapes into space with an Boazanian spacecraft and crashes into the sea on Earth.

He is discovered by Mary Ann and he gets introduced to Dr. Smith and Commander Robinson. Hrothgar informs them of his Boazanian origin and he expressed to them that Earth’s defenses are too weak to protect its people from alien invaders. As he adjusts with Earth life, Hrothgar changes his name into Ned Armstrong, marries Mary Ann and have children together. After several years on Earth, Ned Armstrong worked closely with Dr. Smith to prepare the people for future invasions…

Quality

To begin with, the creative team of GMA managed to establish a cohesive narrative for the cinematic experience which is not an easy thing to do considering all the content from many selected episodes that had to be edited and arranged properly. This involves the presentation of the story details, the live-action elements, the CGI-heavy shots and the human performances to create a narrative that was easy enough to follow and absorb in my experience. I noticed that the so-called movie moved at a medium-to-fast pace which is not surprising because the goal of GMA was to entertain moviegoers and convince them to anticipate the live action TV series. Considering the speed of the pacing, there were some moments when I felt that some scenes were missing which only reminded me that the slower and more dramatic moments were being saved for the TV series.

When it comes to adapting the classic anime’s elements into live action, the creative team did a pretty good job most of the time. The costumes of the five pilots were made with a more practical physical design (note: they are not body tight) while retaining the classic colors and the V logo. The interior set of the Camp Big Falcon operations room looked more futuristic complete with having many people simultaneously operating. The interior set showing Prince Zardoz and his trusted companions closely resembles that of the anime. There was one particular physical set that did not look convincing – the outdoor street market in Boazan early in the movie had that indoor feel which not even the lighting could hide and the CGI shot showing the rest of the outdoor area and the far distance did not match with the place.

More on the artistic side of the presentation, I enjoyed the way the production people emulated the classic anime designs of not only the characters but also the key structures (places) and the giant robots (Voltes V and the two beast fighters) into live action. The cinematic Prince Zardoz looks so much like his anime counterpart and the same can be said about Dr. Smith and Mrs. Armstrong. The two beast fighters here were rendered to look much like their anime versions but were animated in a way to emphasize mass and scale.

The strategic posing in this notable shot is a fun and honorable throwback to a key moment in the very first episode of the original Voltes V anime TV series. (photo source – the Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience trailer)

There were some notable artistic discrepancies and flaws however. The cinematic Princess Zandra, Draco and Commander Robinson clearly did not quite match their anime counterparts. For some reason, Princess Zandra appeared with a very different costume displaying subtle sexiness instead of royalty. Could it be possible the creative team took inspiration from the Fatima Blush character (played by Barbara Carrera) in the 1983 James Bond movie Never Say Never Again while modernizing Princess Zandra? As for Draco, he does not look as intimidating as his anime version and he even looks more like a cosplayer! Commander Robinson here does not display the maturity of the anime version due to the questionable quality of the costume provided and the actor’s appearance. In my experience watching the anime series, Commander Robinson looked and felt like a military man in his early fifties which the live action version never captured.

Now I want to talk about Voltes V itself. The highlight of the CGI combined with really good art direction is the iconic giant robot, including the five vehicles that compose it. To begin with, the use of CGI emphasizing multiple moving mechanical parts to emphasize Voltes V is a very smart move done by special effects team. While each vehicle has a new visual aesthetic to match the live action approach, they still remained recognizable to me. The biggest visual highlight in the movie is the volt-in sequence when each vehicle combined to form Voltes V in robotic form. As each vehicle connected to each other, the classic sequence from the anime was replicated excellently. Given the artistic direction and the CGI’s emphasis of multiple moving parts, the volt-in sequence here is much more detailed than the anime version! I should state that it is very likely that the visual effects team worked overtime to achieve the high-level of detail, the vibrant colors and the impressive animation on Voltes V.

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With the approach on multiple moving parts, Voltes V itself looks bulkier in a mechanical fashion which I really admire. It should be stated that showcasing the iconic giant robot in action – complete with CGI presentation of the many Voltes weapons – is a visual feast complete with very vibrant colors! Each time Voltes V hits a beast fighter by punching or using a weapon, there is strong impact felt with each blow! The sound effects team really did good work adding weight and power to the action.

The work done by the special effects crew in this external shot of Jamie Robinson’s cockpit is very impressive and detailed! Ysabel Ortega acted convincingly to what happened. (photo source – the Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience trailer)

Considering the high detail and strong animation on Voltes V, the two beast fighters shown in this movie had very similar visual qualities. There was no major discrepancy on visual quality between the iconic robot and the enemy during battles.

More on the CGI, I can declare that the locally produced visual effects (by GMA Video and Riot, Inc.) looked very good for the most part! Apart from the battles between the giant figures, the sequences of animating the Voltes V vehicles, the Boazanian flying saucers (with fast moving sharp edges that make them resemble motorized wood-cutting blades), the fighter planes and physical damage of places were nice to see. There were, however, several explosions that were badly rendered (note: even looking flat and out of place) in key scenes and there were moments when military vehicles looked more like they belong in video games from a few console generations ago. The formation of the blade of Voltes V’s laser sword clearly needs more work as it looks unpolished. In the post-credits scene, CGI for Octo 1 was badly done!

Apart from action scenes, the giant robots and their weapons, CGI was also used on established places or structures. Camp Big Falcon really looks magnificent while the floating mechanical Boazanian skull appeared very creepy. In shots showing the far distance, Camp Big Falcon in the background still looks good even though the visual quality falls short of capturing true photo-realism.

Considering the way GMA edited the footage and selected visual effects shots for this so-called movie, the overall quality of the CGI literally landed some notches short of photo-realistic levels. That’s not criticism at all but a confirmation that Filipino-produced CGI showcased here is the best I have seen yet! All in all, an impressive ton of work by the special effects teams using computers.

As for the human performances, I can say that the cast collectively did a good job bringing the characters to life and this includes paying special attention to details from anime while adding certain elements that reflect modernization. Zardoz was portrayed to be sadistic and obsessed on conquering planet Earth which reflects his imperial task and the pressure that comes with it. Sometimes, Zardoz looked and acted even psychotic. Mary Ann Armstrong is the definitive mother figure here and the producers emphasized her more with scenes showing her as a very focused authority during crisis as well as a tender and loving woman during her time with the family. In some ways, Mary Ann Armstrong is almost like the protagonist of this so-called movie and the live action version looks deeper than the anime version. While the live action Commander Robinson needs a lot of improving, Dr. Smith here really looks and feels like he was instantly ripped off the anime resulting in a very straightforward version fans will recognize. The live action Ned Armstrong here has some elements that deviate from what was portrayed in the anime (note: a very skilled fighter whose moves were so obviously choreographed during an action scene) while retaining key elements that still made him recognizable.

The actors who played the five pilots of Voltes V performed nicely. Even with all the layered Tagalog expressions (including gestures that we Filipinos are familiar with), Steve, Big Bert, Little Jon, Mark and Jamie are all very recognizable not in terms of looks but through the dialogue, character details and acting. The production team really worked hard to not only balance their respective shares of the spotlight, but also get good enough performances from the actors. Take note that apart from the on-set dramatization, the actors of the Voltes V team had to perform accordingly in their respective cockpit scenes (note: the special effects teams painstakingly provided all the CGI to specifically reflect what had been happening with the pilots and with their machines) and this includes internal communications between the members. What we have right now are the best actors available portraying Steve, Big Bert, Little Jon, Mark and Jamie and making them recognizable in terms of characterization.

With regards to the music, I can say that this one clearly needs improvement. There is orchestrated music in this cinematic experience that played new tunes while also redoing/recycling classic tunes from the anime TV series. When the anime tunes were played by the orchestra with a modern approach, they were recognizable to my ears but the power and essence of the original tunes were not replicated successfully. Sometimes, I just wished that the anime tunes were played more while the orchestra focused more on providing new music.

As for the famous Voltes V theme song, the new version performed by Julie Anne San Jose is a letdown! I’m not saying San Jose is a bad singer but her version – which even used the Japanese lyrics – lacked impact compared to the original version. While the volt-in sequence proved to be a grand visual feast for the fans and viewers who love great looking CGI sequences, its cinematic impact was brought down a bit by San Jose’s version of the theme song. How I wish that the movie producers just used the classic song from the 1970s anime series!

This original theme song should have been used in Voltes V: Legacy instead of the new version.

Conclusion

As expected, Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience has a mix of strong points and flaws. The good news is that the good outweighed the bad and I pretty much enjoyed this cinematic version of the live action adaptation done by GMA, its strategic partners and the local talents. As this so-called movie was a mix of content from several episodes edited to form a suitable narrative, it succeeded in entertaining and engaging me. Yes, there were flaws and there were some parts showing weaknesses but those things did not damage the viewing experience too much. There is a good amount of fun with this so-called movie.

Obviously this cinematic version is part of GMA Network’s strategy to build up anticipation for the upcoming TV series (which has a declared 80 episodes for broadcasting). While some people will perceive Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience as a blatant form of marketing or even as corporate gimmick, I personally see it as a worthy showcase in the local cinema (note: cinemas here in the Philippines are still recovering from the massive damage of COVID-19) and it just might not be repeated. Let me remind you readers that this newest Voltes V adaptation highlights the peak of Filipino-produced CGI visuals and the Filipinos’ collective efforts to really make a worthy live action adaptation of a foreign entertainment property. This so-called movie is clearly not perfect (note: it is not deserving of perfect 10/10 scores that others gave it) but it is pretty good to watch in the cinema.

*Voltes V looks better than ever and made a big entertaining impact in the cinema. How will Voltes V: Legacy turn out on TV given the fact that there are so many episodes set for broadcasting?* *(photo source – the Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience trailer)*

As mentioned earlier, I’m not a fan of the Voltes V anime and I’m not exactly anticipating the Voltes V: Legacy TV series. I do confirm that the long-lasting legacy Voltes V is clearly thriving here in the Philippines and the new TV series could potentially make a deep impact on Filipinos who love entertainment and possibly replicate what happened in the 1970s and 1980s when the classic anime TV aired on TV nationwide. How the new TV series will turn out is clearly GMA’s own problem.

Overall, Voltes V: Legacy – The Cinematic Experience is recommended.

+++++

A Look Back at Shin Godzilla (2016)

February 8, 2021November 30, 2025carlocarrasco

There is no doubt that Japan’s fictional monster Godzilla (originally called as Gojira) made tremendous impact not only with the Japanese but also with other entertainment lovers around the world. Way back in 1954, the monster was portrayed as a destructive, walking symbol of nuclear weapons in the movie Gojira directed by the late Ishirô Honda.

As the years passed by, several more Godzilla movies were released by Toho Pictures. In 1998, an American-made movie about Godzilla was finally made in a disappointing form directed by Roland Emmerich. In 2014, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures made a more respectful film of the monster under the direction of Gareth Edwards. In 2019, the follow-up Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released and I enjoyed it a lot more than its 2014 predecessor.

Before the 2019 movie was released, Toho in Japan released Shin Godzilla (alternate titles: Shin Gojora and Godzilla: Resurgence) which was the result of the 2014 movie’s success as well as the fact that there were no restrictions in the contract with Legendary Pictures for the Japanese studio to make their own domestic versions.

Due to its lack very limited presence in cinemas here in the Philippines in 2016, I was unable to watch it on the big screen. Fortunately, it was released locally on original DVD some time after and I got to watch it in the comfort of home.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Shin Godzilla co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi (both best known for Neon Genesis Evangelion).

Early story

The story begins at Tokyo Bay where the coast guard personnel found an abandoned yacht and searched inside. Suddenly a huge cloud of steam erupted from the ocean followed by blood-like water flooding the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. The tragedies compelled local authorities to take action starting with a committee meeting.

As emergency personnel save the victims in the damaged Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, the tragedies reach the office of the Prime Minister who engages with many other government officials in an official meeting. They try to figure out what caused the incidents and, as such, theories and efforts to explain what happened were spoken until Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa) theorized that a living creature caused it (because he saw a viral video) which only resulted disbelief and dismissal.

Suddenly a massive tail rises from the ocean which got captured in video and photographs by the news media which confirms Yaguchi’s hunch. As the Prime Minister and the team of officials spend more time discussing and searching for real experts (because the three scientists they just met did not produce any breakthroughs), a huge creature makes its way into one of Tokyo’s districts through a waterway causing massive damage and displacing many people as well as all boats that got in its way.

In a press conference, the Prime Minister gave his assurance to the public that they need not worry about the creature coming to shore. Just after giving his assurance speech, an assistant approaches the Prime Minister with really bad news that the creature has been crawling inland and causing even more damage…

Quality

*Japan’s iconic monster is not only terrifying here but also very deadly.*

When it comes to presentation in comparison to all other Godzilla movies released, Shin Godzilla is very unique as it strongly brings to the viewers a very in-depth examination of the bureaucracy of the Japanese government complete with the many laws, requirements, rules and other elements of governance that made it so hard for the local authorities to respond to Godzilla’s invasion of the metropolis. There are key details that were raised such as the constitutionality of using local military force against the monster (which is not a foreign invader), which department should be in-charge of research about the same monster, etc.

Along the way, there is an overload of information – in terms of text, images and dialogue – that makes viewing quite a challenge. This makes watching Shin Godzilla a learning experience that viewers who are interested in governance and science will likely enjoy although it will alienate other moviegoers, especially those who only want to watch the spectacle of massive on-screen destruction that giant monster movies are known for. Going through all the exposition and explanations, and understanding most of it, however, will make the viewing experience worth it as these countless details do make sense in relation to Godzilla’s destructive impact on the people.

And then there is the huge cast of characters that needs to be followed. This is another big challenge for viewers because if one misses out on the key purpose a character has, then following the government’s efforts on dealing with Godzilla will make less sense. Not only will you have to follow the characters’ names, you will also have to remember their respective work titles. Apart from the government officials, there is also the huge batch of nerds and varied experts gathered by the government to do intense research. Again, those people need to be followed and remembered so you can understand what they do and how they contribute to their government’s efforts. When it comes to performances, they are collectively dramatic and you will be convinced of the pressure, the danger and uncertainty they face with Godzilla threatening Tokyo.

*Better get used to seeing so many characters throughout the movie.*

As for the main spectacle of the movie, Godzilla, I can say that the monster here is very terrifying to watch. This is not your typical Godzilla as the Anno-Higuchi directorial duo really went all out with their creativity to remake Japan’s iconic monster into something new and deadly while still linking him creatively to the legacy of the classic Godzilla. There is even an element of evolution in this version of Godzilla and to see the Japanese military fire their expensive weapons at him really made a lot of spectacle to enjoy. I should also state that several scenes of disaster caused by the monster in this film were inspired by the tragedies of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011. Lastly, Godzilla here is really a super villain that is not only gigantic but also is made to be highly believable that it can destroy the nation, kill innocent civilians, demoralize the authorities and even bring Japan’s entire economy way down (note: one of the government officials explained the economic consequence of failing to defeat the monster).

When it comes to visual effects, this one is the best-looking Godzilla made by the Japanese yet! While the traditional approach of having an actor wear a rubber suit has been disregarded in favor of using modern, digital means (with motion capture), what the production team did here is very impressive as they focused strongly on having computer-generated graphics that are photo-realistic. While it is true that there were some moments of fake-looking CGI, the heavy photo-realism on the graphics of Godzilla (combined with strategic camera angles that really captured the scope and size of the monster) easily outweighed the weak spots. The lighting effects used for the laser blasts were very impressive, even competitive with what Hollywood has been doing. As for the scenes of destruction, a mix of CGI and practical effects (specifically miniatures) was used. In fact, certain scenes showing Godzilla interacting with the environment was done with pushing a prop through miniatures which resulted a high level of detail with organic and solid stuff.

The spectacle would not have been that effective, however, without the solid musical work done by Shiro Sagisu. Not only did the music add a lot to the intense sequences of Godzilla, it also brought out the sense of dread and horror out of the monster especially in the night-time scene when he was towering over a large section of Tokyo that lost power. Sagisu was also involved in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Conclusion

*The emphasis on photo-realism on the computer-generated effects is something special.*

I can say it out loud that Shin Godzilla (2016) is truly a spectacle to watch complete with tons of heavy drama, tons of information and the widest cast of characters to date. It is a new version of the Japanese icon that really impresses and when it comes to movie intelligence, it easily outshines many other Godzilla flicks. While it has a lot of spectacle to keep moviegoers entertained, its heaviness with the information and large cast of characters could turn off viewers who are not used to thinking and paying attention to lots of details while watching a giant monster movie. Personally, I welcomed the information overload and made efforts on paying close attention to the details and the characters. It really takes patience and focus to truly make the most out of the story and the overall presentation.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this movie for what it is and what its message was about with regards as to how governments should respond to immense disasters, what is Japan’s place in the world of the 21^st century and, most notably, what Godzilla means to Japan and the international community. This is a very solid modernization of Godzilla and the Anno-Higuchi deserve admiration.

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Shin Godzilla (2016), visit Amazon for the Blu-ray disc release and see if it has the right price and special features to satisfy you.

Overall, Shin Godzilla (2016) is recommended!

+++++

A Look Back at X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

January 4, 2021January 2, 2021carlocarrasco

We all know that the 20^th Century Fox franchise of X-Men movies has ended and everything cinematic about Marvel’s famous mutants are now in the hands of Marvel Studios. From the year 2000 to 2020, the original X-Men cinematic universe produced a whole bunch of movies (including spinoffs) which ultimately led to uneven results with regards to commercial success, critical feedback, artistry, production values and cultural impact. Even so, 20^th Century Fox-produced X-Men movies generated more than $6 billion in ticket sales worldwide.

When it comes to the spinoff movies, I like Logan the best (sorry, Deadpool).

For the main X-Men movies, the one film that really delivered the great stuff and tons of fun for me was none other than X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). For one thing, the movie had two generations of X-Men cinematic performers (the original team led by Patrick Stewart and the newer ones from X-Men: First Class led by James McAvoy) and its story literally had them linked together with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as the living bridge between them. To put it short, it was a cinematic crossover story made with X-Men fans in mind. That film scored highly with critics and most moviegoers, and it grossed almost $750 million worldwide which makes it the highest-grossing X-Men movie ever until now.

It has been years since X-Men: Days of Future Past made waves in the cinemas and through post-theater businesses like Blu-ray, cable TV, pay-per-view, streaming and the like. Along the way, movies like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame collectively raised the standards of Hollywood superhero movies in varied ways. I should state that X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand did not age well.

To find out if the 2014 X-Men film aged well or not, here is my retro review of X-Men: Days of Future Past directed by Bryan Singer with a screenplay written by Simon Kinberg with a story done by Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn.

*A great image of the cinematic X-Men, both the old and newer cast.*

Early story

The story begins in the dark future. Countless mutants and human allies have been caught and imprisoned by very sophisticated Sentinels (operating for an unnamed authority that also has armed human personnel as watchers) which continue to hunt more of them down along with any humans caught aiding them. In Russia, a small X-Men team composed of Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Iceman, Sunspot, Bishop, Warpath and Blink take action when they realized that the Sentinels found their hideout. Kitty Pryde, who by this time gained the new ability to send a person’s consciousness back through time, runs along with Bishop to hide in a vault to send his consciousness into the past. Fortunately for them, their teammates delayed the unstoppable Sentinels enough to succeed.

Some time later at another location, an aging Charles Xavier, Magneto, Wolverine and Storm arrive to meet with Kitty Pryde and her teammates. Xavier gives the team an in-depth history lesson about the Sentinels which were created decades earlier by the late Bolivar Trask who was assassinated by Mystique (who believed she could make a difference for her fellow mutants). After the assassination, Mystique got caught by the authorities and became a live experiment for scientists working for the government. Her DNA helped accelerate the development of the Sentinel program which made them able to adapt to most mutant attacks and powers.

A plan gets formed for Kitty Pryde to send Xavier back through time to his younger self in 1973 to prevent the assassination from happening. Kitty states it’s too risky for the old Xavier to go through time as it may kill him. Wolverine volunteers to take Xavier’s place as his healing factor (regeneration) will ensure his survival with the process. Xavier presses Wolverine to convince the 1973 Charles Xavier to help prevent the assassination given the fact that he was a broken man at the time.

Wolverine arrives in his younger self’s body in New York of 1973. He makes his way to the mansion of Charles Xavier. As it turns out, Xavier’s school has been closed for some time and has been decaying…

Quality

*Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Hugh Jackman as Beast, Charles Xavier and Wolverine respectively.*

Considering what was made and what were presented through this movie, the creative team and the cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past literally scored a home run here resulting true greatness! Bryan Singer, whose previous X-Men directorial job was 2003’s X2, finally struck gold with regards to storytelling, directing and, finally, spectacle (previous his big weakness).

In terms of storytelling, this movie, first and foremost, is not a faithful adaptation of the classic Days of Future Past storyline at all. In fact, there was no need for it to be faithful. What the screenwriters came up with was a loose adaptation which allowed them to craft a more original story that involved the established X-Men characters (from the early movies) and the other X-Men characters (who started in 2011’s X-Men: First Class) and have them set apart in terms of time periods (similar to what was done in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, but much better and more compelling in writing). The result is a crossover tale with Wolverine being the traveler through time.

*The Sentinels are clearly terrifying and unstoppable!*

The great news here is that the script has very strong structuring done and even had enough space to briefly acknowledge events and characters from the first three X-Men films plus 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine as canon. All of these add to the narrative very well and when the stakes were raised, the overall plot made sense. Let me add that it was a smart move for the writers to raise the stakes in the two time periods during the final act of the movie, which really made the story more engaging to viewers. I should state that having two conflicts happening simultaneously on screen in this X-Men movie was done efficiently and without ever becoming confusing nor messy.

Apart from the narrative, the portrayal of the X-Men was, indeed, spot-on. Noticeably, the major characters here were Charles Xavier (both old and young), Wolverine (both old and young), Mystique, Magneto (specifically the young version), Beast and Bolivar Trask. Strong writing was evident in the dialogue of the mentioned characters, as well as in those with minor roles. Through dialogue alone, I easily recognized these cinematic characters.

*Michael Fassbender delivered his best performance as young Magneto.*

Given his strength in telling stories, I should say that Bryan Singer succeeded in executing the script into cinematic narrative. Not only that, he succeeded in getting really good performances from the cast. James McAvoy (young Xavier), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Michael Fassbender (young Magneto) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) were evidently more confident and more comfortable in reprising their characters (note: they debuted together in X-Men: First Class).

The old cast composed of Patrick Stewart (old Xavier), Ian McKellen (old Magneto), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Halle Berry (Storm), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) and Daniel Cudmore (Colossus) all made a very welcome return. To be specific, it was only Patrick Stewart among them who had the most engaging dialogue with Ian McKellen being a distant second to him. As most of the film was set in the past, it was understandable that the old cast’s dialogue would not be that rich which translates to limited performance. The filmmakers tried bouncing back with mutant variety by having Bingbing Fan as Blink, Adan Canto as Sunspot and Booboo Stewart as Warpath, who all provided nicely in the action scenes and special effects use.

*Bingbing Fan and Booboo Stewart as Blink and Warpath.*

Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine in this movie is the most unique of them all. Not only does he have to play TWO versions of his character, he as the only member of the old X-Men cast spent a great deal of time interacting with the newer X-Men players. The great news here is that Jackman has great chemistry with James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult and Michael Fassbender, which ultimately justified the crossover! Speaking of McAvoy, his scene with the older version of his character is very memorable and a highlight! Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask is excellent but to my surprise, he is not exactly villainous nor did he express cruelty. He’s more of an obsessed scientist and as such, Michael Fassbender’s Magneto easily overshadows him when it comes to being the main antagonist. This is surprising but not exactly a problem.

More on the anti-hero factor of the movie, I should say that the Sentinels in this movie are the most dangerous and the most intimidating non-sentient, scientific antagonists since the Terminator. Being programmed to deal with mutants, the Sentinels are unrelenting and often used violence to complete their objectives. The futuristic Sentinels, which are evolved versions thanks to Mystique’s DNA, are so formidable the mutants cannot simply defeat them. Even the 1970s Sentinels are quite formidable.

As mentioned earlier, I do confirm that Bryan Singer really outdid himself on delivering the spectacle back with support from the special effects team, the stunt team and the like. The action scenes involving the X-Men are top-notch, in fact they make the action in Singer’s previous X-Men films look minor in terms of creativity, quality and fun! The computer-generated effects in this movie still look great by today’s standard, although some CGI used in the floating stadium sequence looked rushed. Also it was quite a marvel to see Wolverine and Beast face-off with a 1970s Sentinel in the final act. I should mention that the slow-motion sequence involving Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters) is one great and funny spectacle to watch, well worth replaying!

Conclusion

*Jennifer Lawrence in her best-ever performance as Mystique.*

I declare that X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the best-ever X-Men movie I have seen and it has aged very well! Its overall quality is very great and the combined talents of director Singer, the cast, the writers and all the technical teams justified it all. By today’s standards, this X-Men movie still stands very high among all superhero movies of Hollywood ever released! As an X-Men film, this one is truly epic and the true highlight of all X-Men movies under 20^th Century Fox. As a time-travel film, this one has a very unique approach and it should be noted that director Bryan Singer approached James Cameron to talk about time travel, parallel universes and the like.

More on personal viewing, I can say that this film greatly entertained me in the cinema back in 2014, and it still succeeds in doing so whenever I replayed it on Blu-ray in the comfort of home. If there is anything I regret, it’s the fact that I never saw this movie in the IMAX cinema.

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), visit Amazon for the Blu-ray release as well as the 4K Blu-ray combo release. There is also the Rogue Cut of the movie also on Blu-ray.

Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is highly recommended!

+++++

A Look Back at Night of the Creeps

June 23, 2020June 22, 2020carlocarrasco

When you craft a story meant to entertain people, it is already tough to mix genre elements and make them work together while still telling a cohesive story. Imagine how hard that could be when making a movie with the mentioned creative mix?

Back in the mid-1980s, a young film enthusiast named Fred Dekker not only pulled it off but actually made a feature-length film titled Night of the Creeps which was his cinematic directorial debut. Before making that science fiction/horror/comedy movie, Dekker grew up watching movies of horror, science fiction and fantasy and developed a passion for movies (and movie production eventually).

After much learning through UCLA, Dekker broke into Hollywood and started a professional career in film and eventually got his dream project in the form of Night of the Creeps.

“Night of the Creeps is very much a first feature with the attitude of many first features. The I-may-not-get-to-do-another-movie-so-I’m-going-to-do-everything-I-want-to-do-in-this-movie attitude. It’s an attitude that often backfires, but in this case, it’s exactly what makes Night of the Creeps so much fun,” Dekker stated.

With the short film history lesson done, it’s now time to take a look back at Night of the Creeps written and directed by Fred Dekker, and released in 1986 by TriStar Pictures.

*If you were the police chief, how many police officers would send to corner one zombie?*

Early story

The story begins inside a space ship where one alien creature (carrying a canister) is running away from two armed personnel. With the two chasers delayed, the creature manages to shoot the canister into the realm of space.

On Earth, the year is 1959. In a typical American suburb, a college student visits a sorority house to pick up his date. Together, along with a few other pairs in cars, they spend time at a parking spot with a nice night view. A young police officer, who is aware of the news about a potential killer on the loose, approaches the pair and recognizes the lady from the sorority house. He tells them to go home for their safety, and then leaves them.

Shortly after, the canister from space arrives and crashes nearby causing the college student to drive the car (with his date with him) and find the spot of the crash. He parks the car by the woods and moves into woods leaving the sorority girl alone, sitting and waiting. He finds the canister and decides to look at it closely. Through an opening, an alien slug suddenly jumps from the canister and into his mouth. Meanwhile, the lone lady in the car hears the news about the loose killer and realizes the details about their location (being the destination of the killer). Slowly creeping up on her is a man with an axe.

*What teenagers in America used to do in the 1950s.*

In 1986, at the same locality, college students party around and engage in lots of activities in relation to pledge week being organized at a local university. Among the students walking down the sidewalk are Chris Romero and his handicapped friend J.C. Chris spots a pretty girl from a distance and instantly falls for her at first sight. With the help of J.C., he decides to pursue her…

Quality

Even with a low budget, Night of the Creeps is very creatively done and comes with a good amount of fun for viewers who enjoy elements of horror or sci-fi, 1950s romance, 1980s teen comedy and even detective story. What made this movie a cinematic gem is that Fred Dekker and his creative team combined their strengths with the talents of their cast members specifically Jason Lively, James Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins.

At its core, Night of the Creeps is a zombie horror flick that had sci-fi elements of UFOs and the 1950s as a strong foundation (in addition to serving in the background of the plot). Those combined genre elements alone (backed with a plot that is cohesive enough thanks to Dekker) made this movie solid and yet, the implementation of detective/crime storytelling and 1980s teen comedy (specifically college culture) further added more punch and variety in making the film really engaging and fun.

That being said, the actors delivered the goods with their respective performances. Jason Lively and Steve Marshall have excellent chemistry together as the 1980s college boys Chris Romero and J.C. They started their acts as typical college guys trying to achieve something when it comes to campus achievements and winning the girl’s heart. They also delivered strong performances on the comedy and they pushed their dramatic limits further when the film’s tone shifted to horror. Jill Whitlow is interesting as sorority girl Cynthia who has that girl-next-door charm. She proved to be talented with acting as she had convincing romantic chemistry with a certain jerk and Chris.

*Steve Marshal, Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow as J.C., Chris Romero and Cynthia.*

*The horror film genre legend himself, Tom Atkins!*

The standout performer among them all, unsurprisingly, is Tom Atkins as detective Ray Cameron. Before making this movie, Atkins worked in horror movies and a few cult movies, and got involved with the legendary John Carpenter. As such, playing the veteran detective Cameron here was a natural fit for the actor. As the aging and troubled detective, Atkins portrayed him dramatically and because of his very rugged touch, the actor really looked like he actually lived through decades of police work in the fictional town. Atkins also proved to be very good with quotes, specifically with “Thrill me!” It should be noted that this is Atkins’ personal favorite role in the horror genre.

When it comes to telling a cohesive story to emphasize the mixed genre elements, I should say Fred Dekker and his team succeeded. The pacing ran at a medium pace for the most part and even during the slower scenes, there was never a boring moment. More on storytelling, Night of the Creeps’ concept made sense for the most part (about how a slug from outer space would gradually cause zombification on people and even animals, in the midst of college-related events happening) and still had room for suspense, spectacle (note: Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow themselves used dangerous weapons near the end of the film) and, yes, character development! All of that pulled of nicely in roughly ninety minutes and the viewing experience was ultimately fun and engaging.

*I wonder if this image would be considered offensive by the SJWs…*

*Perhaps this will inspire you to research what American life was like back in the 1950s.*

It should be noted that, in terms of presentation, key scenes were very well directed and strong performances from the actors were realized. The scene where detective Cameron and Chris had a private talk was intriguing to watch, and that one had the strongest act Tom Atkins made in the film. I should also mention that, apart from the dramatics and performances, I enjoyed the cinematography done by Robert C. New especially with the way the camera moved as the actors delivered their lines in key sequences. There were closeups that perfectly captured the moments when the actors delivered their strongest acts. Last but not least, the music by Barry De Vorzon fit the film’s tone and concept smoothly.

Conclusion

I really love Night of the Creeps and I want you – my readers and fellow film buffs and pop culture geeks – to watch it from start to finish. I never saw this movie in the cinemas in the 1980s but was fortunate enough to watch it on cable TV on a late night in 1998 (twelve years after its cinematic release). That was a night I’ll never forget because Night of the Creeps delivered the fun and exceeded my expectations. Then years ago, I finally acquired the Sony Pictures Blu-ray disc release which I replayed from time to time at the comfort of home with my Xbox One console as the disc player. The film looks even better in high-definition!

The best thing I love about Night of the Creeps is its big mix of genre elements which was supported by solid storytelling and performances. When it comes to spectacle or shock moments, it should be stated that the practical effects used (note: no CGI or computer-generated images here) in the movie still stand up strongly until now although I must say that the aliens creatures in the early part of the story were just not convincing enough.

Even by today’s standards, Night of the Creeps is enjoyable and gripping to watch, and the fact is nobody in Hollywood is making anything like it, nor are there any filmmakers willing to do a big mix of genre elements and tell a cohesive story with good performance from hired talents. This alone makes Fred Dekker’s directorial debut a cinematic gem that has been overlooked by too many people

In light of modern society and its norms, I declare that Night of the Creeps will give you a good dose of escapism not only from real life but also from the corrupted and highly politicized culture of Hollywood which points to the Political Left (whose central figure Barack Obama supports Iran, the terrorists and illegal immigrants) and its trouble makers (examples: social justice warriors or SJWS, the socialists, the radical feminists, the LGBTQ) who managed to infiltrate the American film industry and even the American media (note: you can tell if a movie review was written by an SJW who only writes something to fit his/her social justice agenda). This old movie was made to deliver fun without any political garbage whatsoever. That being said, it will make you wish that Hollywood would just focus on making their movies truly entertaining and be free from political poison at the same time. Movies that carry political overtones or emphasize identity politics are major turn-offs.

Overall, Night of the Creeps is highly recommended! That being said, I urge you to order a Blu-ray copy of Night of the Creeps now at Shout Factory and Amazon. Whichever Blu-ray version you acquire (note: the Shout Factory version has newer and more extra stuff), you can’t go wrong with Night of the Creeps in high-definition.

A Look Back at On Deadly Ground

November 3, 2019December 21, 2022carlocarrasco

Way back in 1994, Warner Bros. released the action movie On Deadly Ground which marked the directorial debut of its star Steven Seagal. The movie had a poster that easily attracted the attention of avid Steven Seagal fans and eventually the film lured quite a lot of moviegoers to the cinemas.

ODG1 — *Even though it had a boring design, this image at cinemas excited Steven Seagal fans and moviegoers craving for action.*

I never saw it in the cinemas due to a lack of time and money. Instead I saw On Deadly Ground on VHS format (and later on cable TV) in the comfort of home. That comfort however turned into disappointment after watching it.

For starters it’s a Steven Seagal movie which guarantees lots of hard-hitting action with lots of swearing. What makes it feel unique was its focus of the environment and its very forced concept about a very greedy top executive of an oil company is creating danger towards the environment as his team rushes to complete an oil rig called Aegis One in Alaska.

The execution of the movie, to say the least, is rather poor. Just about every character in the movie is one-dimensional. When it comes to action, it is typical (and very predictable) Seagal as the star gets to fight lots of bad guys without ever being hurt by them! Ironically Seagal in the film expresses pain over the treatment of his wounds.

ODG6 — *Star-director Steven Seagal and the film crew working on an action sequence.*

And then there is the emphasis on the environment. The movie narrowly portrays the fictional oil company as the force of danger to nature and threat to indigenous people of Alaska because it is led by Michael Jennings (played by Michael Caine) who is too greedy and desperate to beat a deadline and prevent the oil rights from reverting back to native Alaskans.

That’s right! Jenning’s Aegis had the oil rights for twenty years and all they could do is try to launch an oil refinery so near the end of the time period. Does it really take that long to construct an oil rig? What exactly did Jennings do during those twenty years? I mean, he acquired the oil rights from the natives and I could speculate he did not prioritize the construction of any oil-related business project using those same rights. Perhaps Jennings spent years touring the world, suddenly was advised that his corporation has financial trouble and only then did he go to work to make oil rig.

More on the environment, Steven Seagal plays Forrest Taft who initially serves Jennings. He eventually checks the computers of the company to find out that faulty equipment has been used and the delivery of better and more reliable equipment is coming in way too late. Taft even asked Jennings (who eventually learned about Taft’s unauthorized computer access) how much money is enough and this predictably leads to a scene in which Taft gets set up to die in an explosion.

ODG2 — *Michael Caine and Steven Seagal.*

Unfortunately for Jennings and the other bad guys, Taft survived and got assistance from native Alaskans. Very predictably, he makes a comeback, collects weapons, performed a few destructive operations before proceeding to Aegis Oil’s rig to cause further destruction and kill bad guys!

Then the film ends with Taft giving a speech at the Alaska State Capitol focused on uncontrolled pollution, environmental destruction and big businesses’ contribution to environmental decline.

ODG4 — *Chinese actress Joan Chen pretending to be a native tribe member.*

It’s funny how Taft got to deliver his speech. He was not arrested for causing the oil rig’s devastation nor was held accountable for killing other people. Where were the local authorities who could have initiated an investigation? Even without Michael Jennings, the oil company could have gone to the local authorities or the federal government to accuse Forrest Taft for murder and even acts of terrorism! Also where in the world are those staunch, loudmouth environmental activists, SJWs and climate change activists? The damage caused by Taft on the oil rig clearly caused damage to the natural environment with those toxic fumes from the explosions! Logic was clearly thrown out for the sake of senseless violence.

When it comes to performances, this movie is a showcase of shallow acting and cinematic expressions. Not only are the characters one-dimensional and the script really had no character development, the actors really had no where to go as far as acting is concerned. Chinese actress Joan Chen plays Masu who only serves as the English-speaking expository dialogue delivery person to help the audience understand the norms and concerns of a native tribe. Shari Shattuck (who is an author and has her own Facebook page) played the pretty, bland and straight-forward special assistant to Michael Jennings. R. Lee Ermey, who is best known for playing military officers, plays the leader of a group of mercenaries who got defeated too easily by Seagal.

In terms of directing and overall presentation, this movie is clearly nothing more than a vanity project of Steven Seagal. There were many moments in the film that looked like it suggested viewers to worship and idolize Seagal. The pacing of the film is very lackluster overall.

Poorly directed scenes? One of them is the excessively violent torture scene of Hugh Palmer (played by a then 73-year-old Richard Hamilton) which showed no restraint on the part of filmmakers. The scene, which was clearly designed to make moviegoers see the evil of Michael Jennings through the acts of his henchmen, would have worked better had the on-screen torture been reduced and shortened.

More on the movie’s violence, the scene showing Forrest Taft easily beating up multiple oil workers in response to the mistreatment towards a native man was unnecessary and overly long. Taft looked more like a senseless superhero who does not care about humanity and laws. And then there was that hand-slap game between him and “the man’s man” Big Mike (Mike Starr). The presentation of violence and bloodily injuring a man as means of enlightenment is senseless.

Ultimately On Deadly Ground is a worthless action to film to watch and I believe only die-hard Steven Seagal fans will love it. It was a very bad movie back in 1994, it’s even worse by today’s standards. On Deadly Ground is filled with bad ideas turned into film. A pro-environment concept presented as a senseless action film is a big waste. And then there is the old stereotype that a giant corporation’s head is unabashedly evil, inhuman and greedy (note: not all corporate heads of billion-dollar corporations are like that).

As such, I should say that you should never waste your time nor your money on this piece of crap.

+++

Note: This retro movie review was originally published at my old blog Geeks and Villagers. What you just read was the updated and expanded version. As such, this retro movie review is the most definitive version.

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Carlo Carrasco’s Movie Review: Joker

October 10, 2019carlocarrasco

Let me make it clear to all of you readers. The movie Joker is NOT a superhero movie at all even though it is a cinematic adaptation focused on one of DC Comics’ biggest super villains. It is also not a movie to watch for fun and enjoyment, but it is still engaging in a very different way.

The truth is, Joker is a large art film made to shock viewers with darkness, deep grit and some graphic violence. The good news here is that the movie is very engaging and easily reminds me of two certain movies that Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese worked together on. It’s a victory for Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

*Joaquin Phoenix as the new cinematic Joker will be remembered for a long time.*

Joker follows the exploits and Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a struggling man who is hardly surviving working as an entertainer (a clown, specifically) supporting his mother and dealing with the hard life of Gotham City which was stylistically made to look like 1970s New York City. Arthur, who is living with a condition of uncontrolled laughter, looks up to TV show host Franklin Murray (played by Robert De Niro) as an inspiring figure to try out comedy and hopefully make it big to free himself and his mother from poverty.

While performing as a clown surrounded by children in a hospital, Arthur accidentally drops a gun he just received from a co-worker. Because of this, he gets fired and learns that the man who gave him the gun lied to their boss. While riding the subway still looking like a clown, he gets beaten up by three business executives who were drunk. In response, Arthur kills them with the gun and gets away. This incident starts a chain of events that causes friction between the upper class and the lower class, and then protesters wearing clown masks multiply.

On face value, Joker is clearly inspired by character-driven films of the 1970s. While it is not necessarily based on any particular comic book, it carried some slight elements from Batman: The Killing Joke. What is more obvious is that it took inspiration from De Niro-Scorsese films Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.

As a psychological thriller, Joker is a great portrayal of how low a desperate man could go only to strive and survive. Arthur Fleck is greatly played by Joaquin Phoenix who carefully blends drama, anger, violence and even humor altogether. He really made the cinematic Joker his own and along the way, his Joker laught is more effective than that of Heath Ledger and the Joker physical appearance is almost as memorable as that of Jack Nicholson’s. The movie is indeed very violent but it is not overly violent. To be specific, there are a lot more deaths, acts of violence and shooting in Brian De Palma’s Scarface than this movie.

Joker also has a lively portrayal of the conflict between social classes. The scenes of the clown-masked protesters filling the trains and the streets still resonate with the socio-political rallies that happened in modern society. There is also the aspect of poor and desperate people depending on government for survival and they are easily vulnerable to getting cut off whenever resources run out.

Desperation is also a solid theme in the narrative. To see Arthur Fleck look up to Franklin Murray and imagine sharing the stage with him on TV reminds me a lot about some real-life people (who don’t have too much money) I encountered in Cebu City who can’t help but stop studying (even the older ones quit their legitimate jobs) and get into local entertainment hoping that fame and fortune will lift them up. Of course, when things get worse, desperate people would either get back to what they can live with or, worse, turn to a life of crime just to survive. With regards to Arthur’s attempt to become a comedian on screen, that easily reminds me of similar people in real life who thought they are very talented to be the next great superstars but ended up failing.

Conclusion

With its very solid direction by Todd Philips, great dramatic performances, nostalgic presentation and in-depth characterization, Joker is a must-watch movie mainly for moviegoers who want to be engaged with psychological thrills and bouts. As a DC Comics movie that is NOT connected with Warner Bros.’ current franchise of superhero movies (that started with Man of Steel in 2013), Joker works as an adulterated, standalone movie. To compare it with comic books published DC, I should say Joker is very much like an Elseworlds story. For the new comers reading this, Elseworlds was a franchise of comic books published by DC Comics that had stories using established characters but were told outside of DC universe canon.

Joker is highly recommended. Just don’t expect to see the usual superhero movie elements in this very solid DC Comics movie.

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