bison257 Reviews

Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976 TV Movie)

Missing song by Father Time?

[8/10 · 2 December 2005]

While not as good as either "Year Without a Santa Claus" or the original "Rudolph", this was still must-see TV when I was growing up. Since it's one-hour long (when broadcast), you get more bang for your buck than the many half-hour Christmas shows.

When watching this recently, it seems to me they cut one of Red Skelton's songs. Wasn't there a song titled "The moving finger writes...", where Father Time explains to Rudolph how Baby New Year grows into an old man by the end of the year? I have a distinct memory of that. Perhaps it shows up on the DVD? In a similar vein, there's a song I know they routinely cut from "Year Without a Santa Claus"--Mrs. Claus singing "Anyone Can Be Santa Claus". I realize that they're probably squeezing in more commercials than when I was a kid, & something is bound to get cut. Still.

The Ring Two (2005)

Not quite up to par

[4/10 · 19 March 2005]

I had high hopes for this, as I thought the original was very innovative. Here, we get more of "kind of" the same, but not always. First, I thought the premise from the first movie was that in order to save yourself, you had to make a copy of the videotape.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER***

I'll have to go back & review that part, because that wasn't necessarily what was implied in this film.

There were some very good scenes, especially the one involving deer (although I have to say, at one point I was reminded of the deer scene in "Without a Paddle", where a deer suddenly seems like he's growling at the actors!). Still, many things just didn't add up.

***SPOILER***

When Aidan leaves the hospital, that's the last we see of any hospital involvement. They have a sick child missing & a dead doctor, & no one comes to the house looking for him or his mother?! It's like they introduced the hospital scenes solely to have Rachel accused of child abuse, & then they just drop the point.

Also, the whole premise of the first movie was that it was watching the videotape that caused death. Yet, other people die without having seen the movie. If Samara was that powerful, why did she wait so long to come after Rachel & Aiden? I thought Sissy Spacek was great (but then, she usually is), almost unrecognizable in fact. All in all, first half of the movie was very good, lots of tension; it just didn't seem to be able to sustain the plot or the horror. I give it a 4.

Leaving Metropolis (2002)

Good acting, above average (but not great) script

[7/10 · 26 May 2004]

I think I'm willing to give this flick a bit more credit than some of the other commentators. While I think there were some problems with the ending, overall the script worked pretty well. I do agree the part of Violet could have been beefed up a bit more; still, I think this was a fairly engaging movie about love & desire. I thought Ruptash as David was convincing. The only things that seem forced are the constant references to "Superman"; I know that this is supposed to be the subtext for movie, but it feels like the director/writer just stuck it in to hammer home his message. Even so, I think this movie works well for a portrayal of someone who's finding out things about himself he never suspected (Corazza as Matt). This may work better as a play, as did the director/writer's "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love" vs. the movie "Love and Human Remains" (although I thought it was a pretty good movie).

Inhabited (2003 Video)

Better than the average STV

[8/10 · 14 October 2003]

This little flick is reminiscent of several other movies, but manages to keep its own style & mood. "Troll" & "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" come to mind. The suspense builders were good, & just cross the line from G to PG. I especially liked the non-cliche choices with the parents; in other movies, I could predict the dialog verbatim, but the writing in this movie made better selections. If you want a movie that's not gross but gives you some chills, this is a great choice.

Below (2002)

I'd say B+, more than B

[8/10 · 9 June 2003]

While I agree some of the acting was iffy, this was definitely above the usual fare shown on SciFi Channel. The plot was intriguing (even if Macbeth/Hamlet-like). There was pretty good continuity, which is where a lot of these movies fall apart. I also thought the effects/cinematography were extremely good for a lower budget movie. Overall, I'd give it a 7.

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002 Video)

Movie has Multiple-Personality Disorder

[4 March 2003]

OK, bad movie status is accepted. Still, even for a B-movie, I was surprised by how many mood changes this flick went through. Starts off like Jaws, then Alligator, then bobs between Navy Seals & soft-porn. There's a horror/suspense novel called "Meg", by Steve Alten, which read like a screenplay; however, that story had more plot & dialogue than this movie (I'm thinking the screenwriters saw this book; they don't strike me as having the intelligence to actually research a megalodon). By the way, thought the lead actor was more like Mark Harmon than Tom Cruise. Lastly, is it just me, or did the characters keep laughing for no apparent reason?

Dagon (2001)

A step above

[8 October 2002]

While I agree with some of the criticism of the other reviewers, I still think Dagon stands a bit above your basic B-movie. It comes closer to evoking the horror/panic of the original Lovecraft story. I don't mind the horror/camp of Re-animator, but I also like the plain horror aspects of most Lovecraft stories; but, most movies veer way off track, or just add lots of violence & sex (that don't add much to the overall movie). I think Dagon is one of the closest re-creations of Lovecraft I've ever seen. The problem with most Lovecraft stories is that they would work better as short features, rather than feature-length movies. Screenwriters inevitably have to pad scripts with more extraneous material. The padding here is not as overdone. Being a big Lovecraft fan, I'm willing to take some compromises; & overall, I'd say this movie captures a good portion of the "Lovecraft Creeps" I get when reading his stories.

Disappearance (2002 TV Movie)

Some writer needs a stern talking to. . .

[4/10 · 22 April 2002]

105 minutes of plot build-up, with 15 minutes crappy resolution, put this flick in the running for "Worst Ending since Manos, Hands of Fate" contest. There were quite a few potentially interesting plot points thrown in (all summed up by one of the children near the end), and the writer(s) saw fit to ignore every single one. I'm sure both Hamlin & Dey were thinking to themselves, "Shouldn't have left that law firm back in LA".

All Over the Guy (2001)

Nice little film

[8/10 · 28 December 2001]

Thought this was a good little film. I found it just through browsing at the video store; hadn't heard any buzz about (unlike the upcoming Big Eden). The two leads were very believable & sympathetic, despite their idiosyncrasies. About the only criticism I have is with Tom: he seems fairly stable & fit (even considering his commitment problems) for an alcoholic. Still, that was a minor concern compared to the overall portrayals. The two supporting leads played off their best friends very well, too. I liked this movie enough to buy a copy, something I rarely do anymore.