ken-243 Reviews

Hell Night (1981)

Slasher film that actually has a plot

[15 July 2003]

Unusual slasher film for having a fairly believable plot: plausible story of frat/ sorority pledges who have to spend a night in a haunted house as part of their indoctrination. Pledge masters play tricks on them to heighten the experience, but inside the house lurks a murderer. Plot becomes slightly murky with what turns out to be two killers on the lose. And, in the spirit of more common teen slasher movies (Friday the 13th, et al) the baddies just won't die, but happily most of the film remains grounded in a logical progression of events. Also

unusual in allowing the audience to get to know and like the characters before the body count begins. Decades ahead of Melrose Place for using all good

looking actors. Even the pledge masters, who would usually be portrayed as

pock-marked, buck toothed, or just nerdy are easy on the eyes. The sexuality is tame by today's standards, but this is probably the one of the first films to provide equal opportunity for one of the guys to run around in his underwear in addition to the obligatory female underwear scene. No doubt the producers got the money to make a standard slasher film, but because we come to like these

characters it would have been better to have the four principals overcome the killers, rather than just Linda. (It's still okay to kill the pledge pranksters). Vincent's escape from the grounds to go for the Police is also an unhappy

departure from the isolated tone set in Act 1.

Copacabana (1985 TV Movie)

Well above-average TV movie

[20 December 2002]

Underrated tribute to 40s screwball comedies and musicals. First rate score, excellent performances, and beautiful period settings. The feature film lighting is also quite remarkable for this time as most TV movies adopted flat TV lighting. Manilow interprets his own material far better than any of the Tonys in the

various stage musical versions that followed in later years. He's sort of a male Barbara Streisand with an underplayed comic edge, versatile acting skills, and a great voice. Too bad musicals were (and still are) dead by 1985. The

showcase number, "Who Needs to Dream" is both the highlight and the biggest

disappointment because it should have been staged better, even on a low

budget. It's reminiscent of Gene Kelly's famous "Singin' In The Rain" but without the rain and painfully static camera shots--cutting back and forth, back and forth between Tony and Lola. Tony (Barry) moves around a bit more toward the end,

but one is left with the impression this was the last scene they shot when they were out of money or time to do it right. The DVD version offers a beautiful transfer but, sadly offers no commentary or extra features.

Homicidal (1961)

Tight little thriller stands on its own

[4 October 2002]

A rip-off of "Psycho"? Hardly. Yes, there are a couple of scenes that pay homage to the Hitchcock classic, but the two films have absolutely nothing else in

common. "Homicidal" stands on its own as a tight little thriller and manages to sustain interest until the twist is revealed. And the twist ending of "Homicidal" is arguably more of a shocker than the appearance of "mother" in "Psycho." The

story more closely resembles the real-life 1965 tragedy of a Canadian boy who was raised as a girl, due to a hospital accident, from the book "As Nature Made Him" by John Colapinto (Harper/Collins, 2000).

My only real complaint with `Homicidal' is the dubbing of Warren's voice.

Granted, dubbing was fairly common at this point in time ("Charade" and "The

List of Adrian Messenger" come to mind), but since the lip sync is never dead- on, extended looped scenes always have an artificial, almost abstract quality about them. It might have been better to cast fraternal twins in the dual role.

Tom Thumb (1958)

Try the "Gnome Mobile" instead

[22 December 2001]

Tom Thumb compares favorably to later-day kiddy fare, such as "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," but this is not in the same league as "The Wizard of Oz." Forgettable score and lots of long shots (to make Tom Look small) are balanced with wonderful integration of live action and Pal's famous Puppetoons. Concept better executed by Pal-rival Disney in 1967's "Gnome Mobile." Russ Tamblyn is wonderfully athletic and energetic but isn't credible in the role of a young boy (Tamblyn was 24). Still, for Pal fans, it's a must-see for his usual inventiveness and innovation.

The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)

Near classic mystery, good remake candidate

[9 September 2001]

Both George C. Scott and Kirk Douglas turn in terrific

performances. The plot twists and turns delightfully. The

disguised cameo performances add to the interest and mystery.

But the film suffers from being very low budget with bad stock

photography (the airplane crash), the unintentionally comedic

sped up footage of the elevator crash, the laughable disguise

makeup's, too-bright day-for-night scenes, and the mysterious

looping of many of the actor's voices by Paul Frees (uncredited)

gives the film a cartoonish feeling; perhaps because Mr. Frees

myriad voices are so deeply associated with popular cartoon

characters. With Hollywood's zeal for remakes of old classics,

"The List of Adrian Messenger" would be a better choice than trying

to better already flawless flims such as Hitchcock's original

"Psycho" or even William Castle's "House on Haunted Hill." It

would be a great vehicle for Michael Douglas to reprise the role of

his father in an updated version.

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Incomprehensible mess

[29 August 2001]

This film looks like a post-production house's demo reel of their

"special effects" strung together at random. There is no plot. The

film bares little resemblance to the 1959 version. The characters

are cardboard and unlikeable; consequently, it's not really very

scary. A waste of time. Watch the original.

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Compares favorably to "Manhattan Murder Mystery"

[26 August 2001]

My favorite among Woody Allen's more recent films is 1993's

"Manhattan Murder Mystery." It's interesting to compare this film

with "Curse of the Jade Scorpion." Woody's humor works perfectly

wrapped around a mystery. I prefer the improvisational dialogue

style in "Manhattan" to the theatrical delivery in "Scorpion," but the

new film does benefit by avoiding the hand held camera style. As

others have noted, Woody needs to cast a more age-appropriate

actress as his love interest. He had wonderful chemistry with both

Angelica Huston and Diane Keaton in "Manhattan," why weren't

they considered? Keaton and Allen are only 11 years apart

compared to the ludicrous 28 year age difference for Hunt. I was

never convinced that she was attracted to either Allen or Aykroyd's

character. "Scorpion" follows a more even and logical plot line;

although I was more caught up in the story of "Manhattan."

"Manhattan" seems to be more spontaneous and has more energy than "Scorpion," where everyone seems to be a bit

hypnotized. The new film isn't quite as humorous, but there are

some classic and memorable lines here: "Never bet on a race

horse with Parkinson's" and the fireworks scene was fun.

"Scorpion" has a much more satisfying resolution than "Manhattan" and a nice little plot twist. "Curse of the Jade

Scorpion" is a beautifully photographed period piece that's only

flawed by miscasting.

Defying Gravity (1997)

Good chemistry between leads, realistic feel

[25 August 2001]

This film was such a wonderful surprise when I saw it in the

theater -- multiple times, in fact. Candidly, I liked it because I could

really identify with the character of Griffin. The chemistry between

Pete and Griff feels very real. Yes, this is a low-budget film and it

suffers a bit in production values, but the performances are strong

and I enjoy it more with each viewing now on DVD. Some have

criticized it for being cliche, but quite the opposite is true: the film is

remarkable because of the absence of stereotypes we've come to

expect in gay-themed art films: drag queens, dysfunctional

families, everyone dying of AIDS, disco music, diva worship,

pot-smoking, musical theater fanatics, "sissies," leather daddies,

the athletically-challenged...there's none of that here. Griff and Pete

are probably the most accurate representation of most gay men

that have appeared on the screen to date. They're just like any

other guys their age, except that their romantic interests are

focused on guys rather than girls. Had this film been made ten

years earlier, Griff would almost certainly have been portrayed as a

nerdy, unlikable, social outcast; but Griff is every frat boy's best

friend. Two thumbs up for this one.

All Over the Guy (2001)

High production values and appealing characters, but too many cliches

[7/10 · 24 August 2001]

I was very impressed by the quality of this film. The cinematography, lighting, and makeup are well above par for the

gay-themed romantic comedy genre. One review poster here

suggested this genre is now "glutted," but with only one big feature

every summer, I would hardly call that a glut. Despite the

outstanding production values, I'm not as enthusiastic about the

film as past summer hits of the genre such as "Trick," "Defying

Gravity," "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss," and "Broken Heart's

Club." All of those films had the good sense to avoid two of the

most weary gay story line cliches: fear of AIDS and dysfunctional

families. And as other's have noted, the script is peppered with

these other threadbare icons of the "lifestyle." The movie also

suffers from the unhappy trend to score with popular music rather

than traditional orchestral "movie music." Can you imagine a film

like "JAWS" or "Star Wars" with pop-rock music? Laughable.

Despite its many weaknesses, I found the films characters likable

and the "odd couple" paring provided enough dramatic tension to

keep it interesting. Also on the plus side, we were spared the

obligatory drag queen scenes that tend to pop up in these films.

And a happy ending for the gay characters is another trend I hope

will stick for films that follow.

Bring It On (2000)

Classic "let's put on a show" concept, sloppy direction

[16 August 2001]

I've heard horror stories about great scripts being trashed in

Hollywood by committees of producers and legions of ghost

writers allegedly hired to "polish" a weak script. I wonder if this is

such a case? The central theme, the cheerleading competition, is

a classic premise – straight out of the golden age of "lets-put-on-a-show" Hollywood. There's lots of potential for color

and conflict as the contestants prepare for the big showdown. And

there is some of that here, but most of the film is muddled. In the

DVD extras, the director reveals they shot multiple versions of

scenes and were writing on the set. This is sloppy direction. The

other big idea is the inclusion of male cheerleaders. Whether

there is such a thing or not, it's a great idea for a film that will

primarily appeal to girls. So it is doubly curious that the director

doesn't really do anything with the guys, except sort of have them

there to do the heavy lifting. Except for a fleeting scene at a car

wash, the boys never even take their shirts off. Meanwhile the girls

appear in all of the cliche, scantly clad, soft porn poses. A film like

this probably needs a female director to really deliver the beefcake.

Jesse Bradford turns in the most engaging and believable

performance as the love-struck admirer of the head cheerleader.

The rest of the cast seems a bit old. I realize it's easier to employ

actors over 18, but 20-year-olds just don't look like 16-year-olds,

particularly when they have huge tattoos on their back. This subtly

may be lost on Hollywood executives, but it's immediately

apparent to the teenage viewers in the audience.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

Great peformances, great script save over-the-top comedy

[15 July 2001]

I never thought of this as a comedy when I saw this as a kid. The organ loft sequences were particularly scary. This is probably the best story of all of the "Old Dark House" movies. Liam Redmond's underplayed performance as Kelsey brilliantly disappears behind Knott's frantic antics as Luther, disguising his key role in the film.

Viewing it today, it suffers from being a too-silly and obvious vehicle for Knotts. More back-story about the villain would have made it a more interesting film. It bogs-down in the middle during extended park luncheon and court room sequences, but revs up again for an exciting climax. Shot for the wide screen, the film looks terrible on pan-and-scan VHS. Hopefully it will be released on DVD sooner or later, as it was available it's original Techniscope aspect ratio on laserdisc.

Psycho (1960)

The best of the Hitchcock canon

[10/10 · 30 June 2001]

Probably the best of all of the Hitchcock films, mostly due to the surprise mid-film demise of the film's main character. The basic problem with any suspense film is the audience can be secure in the knowledge that the big-name star will survive the film--somehow. Psycho breaks this tradition and throws the audience a completely unexpected curve. Psycho also demonstrates what a good director can do with a low budget and, basically, a one-set picture. Good performances all around, particularly from Perkins. Nearly a perfect piece of cinema, marred only by occasionally sloppy editing and a few unfair red herrings, such as using an actress (Virginia Gregg) as the voice of "mother" instead of having Perkins do it. Brilliant Bernard Herrmann score uses only strings. Title sequences by Saul Bass seamlessly set-up the story. Would-be horror film directors need to thoroughly understand what makes this film a masterpiece before they shoot their first frame of film. There is almost no blood or on-screen violence.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Quest story takes wrong road

[1/10 · 29 June 2001]

** WARNING: SPOILERS ** A.I. Artificial Intelligence begins with the promising premise of a little boy robot imbued with human emotions and the need to by loved by its mother. The first act of the movie shows all the Spielberg artistry as David (the robot) begins to bond with a married couple whose real son is comatose in the hospital. Unexpectedly, though, the real (and evil) son recovers and returns to the household. Now there is no need for the surrogate child and after various complications the mother takes David out into the woods to abandon him (similar to Snow White or Hansel and Gretel). Here, the movie takes a disastrous turn from which it never recovers. Having heard his surrogate mother tell the story of Pinocchio, David goes in search of the Blue Fairy to turn him into a real boy so that his mother will love him. But this is a sci-fi movie, not a fairy tale, so the audience knows that David's quest will be in vain from the start. The final acts progress to be darker and darker. Eventually we find ourselves 2000 years into the future. The mother David bonded with is long dead and turned to dust. Space aliens who now inhabit earth are able to grant David only one day with her facsimilie through DNA cloning. The explanation for only one day is completely unsatisfying -- and for David to have waited and searched for 2000 years to find one day of love is a huge disappointment for the audience. And what's most irritating is this story could have been resolved so much more skillfully – just as it was in "The Wizard of Oz" or "Miracle on 34th Street." David's quest to be a real boy wasn't what he was really searching for at all – and that is the twist that should have been employed here. He only wanted to be loved by his mother. This movie would have been far more powerful and moving by having the mother have a change of heart (maybe her evil son had a relapsed and died?) and gone out on her own quest in search of David – with the final resolution that they find each other and share their love. A proper denouement would have been to jump ahead 50 years when the mother is old and on her death bed and they find a palatable way for David to expire at the same time. (Remember the old song, "My Grandfather's Clock"?) A.I. is a bleak, dark, sad vision of the future. Certainly not for children under 13 and perhaps not even for those under 17. Children who have any fear of parental abandonment might be deeply troubled by this film.