Change Your Image
suicide_ballroom
Reviews
Prom Night (1980)
Maybe it is a good thing that all I could hear was the song
I saw "Prom Night" for the first time this year. I can, without a doubt, say that I wasn't missing much. I never really got into the whole "slasher genre." They are all pretty much the same, have a plot along the same lines and feature gratuitous female nudity and bloodshed. I'd rather not see them, but I can admit that the acting in them sometimes gives me a good laugh. I wish I could say the acting in "Prom Night" gave me a good laugh, however, I could hardly hear a word said. Ah, cheap slasher money makers...poorly filmed, muffled, bloody pieces of crap.
Anyway, the plot is pretty simple.....though, I think that they try to make is seem complex. I can't say for sure though, reiterating the fact that I couldn't hear a word said. The movie is so boring. I can't even say that when the killings begin that it picks up. They lost me after 20 minutes of stupid filler. When the lead character (Jamie Lee Curtis) finds out who the killer is, it is all dramatic...but who really cares? We all knew who the killer was from the beginning. There is no mystery and no suspense...it has all been done before. There is no originality, it is too long and it is just dumb. I can see why I was able to buy this gem in the bargain bin.
The one thing that I did enjoy, embarrassingly, was the blaring theme song. "PROM NIGHT...EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT" Call it a guilty pleasure if you will, but I can honestly say that I would rather own the soundtrack than the movie. Even though this movie features a song that I enjoyed in that this-is-so-stupid-but-undeniably-catchy sort of way, it was definitely not enough to save this movie. Zero out of ****
Manic (2001)
A typical "I have issues"movie
***Somewhat of a SPOILER***
I rented this movie with much anticipation. The title alone got me excited about it. I had also seen an interview with one of the stars on Fuse a while back and desired to see it then.
First off...I think "Manic" was not the right title for the movie. The main character in the movie, Lyle, shows some signs of mania...but he's more angry and obviously cannot control any sort of anger. It is possible I may be confused by what the title is referring to, however, since this movie is placed in a mental ward and the characters are taking such things as Tegretol and Depakote, I leaned towards the bipolar disorder basis before I even rented the movie.
I did not like the "token characters." They wore thin with "Girl, Interrupted." Let's see....we have the girl that is goth looking (because we all know girls that wear black lipstick are wildly depressed). We have the quiet girl who is always calm towards people, but has obvious problems and is always holding things back. We have the person that makes everyone angry because he is so mad about his own life, he must make things terrible for all the people there. We have the friend that there is no hope for, because he does not try to get better (I feel mostly because he does not know how to live outside of a hospital). We have the shy one with lots of problems and who stays mostly quiet until the main character can bring some sort of feeling out of him. And last, but certainly not least, the main character...the one that comes in thinking they have no problem, but in the end realizes and works to get better and tries and usually ends up making an impact on some of the people there. I think maybe I should label this with a spoilers...but it is so typical.
The jerky camera work throughout the movie gets really, really annoying. It's like the director is screaming, "THIS IS AN INDEPENDENT FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!" The opening scene is done in an interesting fashion, that's about all I liked about it. I will, however, give credit for some decent performances. They were well calculated, but too similar to other movies dealing with mental illness issues.
2/4 stars
Thirteen (2003)
wonderful movie
I found this film to be one of the best I have ever seen. Some will read this and think..."well, he hasn't seen many movies." That fact is true. I found the movie very well written and acted. At some points during the movie, I wanted to rip my heart out and give it to the lead character "Tracy." The girl that played her did an incredible job. I read some reviews that said she over-acted and such. I never thought that...have you ever had a spat with a 13 year old girl? It's always overly dramatic and ends with her stomping to her room screaming. That's a teenager for you.
The movie makes you think, and that's what I like about it. No, not every teen is doing what she is doing. No, not every teen is acting like she does. However, all teens are dealing with peer pressure and the urge to be accepted. This movie portrays the state of mind of a teenager beautifully. Definitely ****
Day of the Woman (1978)
horrid
"I Spit on Your Grave" is a terrible movie. I had heard terrible things about it, as have many others. I wanted to see it for those reason. It's just one of those things...you have information leading to the fact that it will be bad, but you have to see just HOW bad. I cannot believe I wasted my time and money on it. "The most controversial film of all time" turned out to be a bunch of bumpkins taking turns raping a girl. She, in return, gets revenge. Revenge has been grounds for a a lot of movies. However, most of those movies to it in a more tasteful and watchable fashion. I felt nothing from this movie except depression, disgust and regret for the better things I could have put my money towards. The shock value of this movie is not enough to watch it. It is pure garbage. In a nutshell, I am an embarrassed owner of one of the worst movies I have ever seen.