Movie 7 - Halloween II (2009)

So I wasn't going to originally include movies that I have watched before, but this one is worth a second view. Today I am talking about Rob Zombie's Halloween II from 2009. Now I am a big fan of Rob Zombie - especially his music, but definitely his films House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, but when I heard he was remaking Halloween I will admit that I was a little worried. You see, I am also a huge fan of John Carpenter and his original Halloween is a classic. Please remember how many of these horror classics have been remade in the early 2000's...It was getting ridiculous. I didn't want to see what happened to my beloved Texas Chainsaw Massacre happen again. But I do live by the rule that you can't rip a movie apart until you have actually sat through it, so I went to see Zombie's Halloween and was pretty happy with the results. Here was a movie that respected the original, but added something new to keep me interested. I wish I could say the same about his squeal.

When Halloween II hit theaters I was worried again. The original Halloween II is not a great movie. It is an ok sequel, but at the same time an obvious cash in on the previous success. It was a rush job and Carpenter didn't want to have anything to do with it. So why should we remake a movie that wasn't great in the first place? Or maybe I'm wrong...maybe that is the perfect reason to remake a film. Maybe its a second chance to make a better story. But the movie I saw in the theater was not an improvement. It was a confusing, disjointed mess that could not tell me a clear story. While I appreciated the first half hour being a reference to the original part 2, what followed didn't make any sense.

So I think that brings us up to date. A while back I picked up a used copy of the "unrated, director's cut" and decided to give the movie a second try. I am definitely glad that I did. This time around the dream-like sequences of what Michael sees were more integrated with the plot and made more sense. You also really get a clear picture of how heartless Dr. Loomis becomes as he completely sells his soul for the money from his true crime books. I also love that (spoiler) this is the first time Michael Myers is aloud to stalk and kill without his mask. This shows us that his real face has become his mask and it is just as scary. And as usual, I really appreciate what Zombie is able to do with sound design to add emotion to the aftermath of destruction. You almost want to cry for characters that have to find their loved one's brutalized remains. The film is definitely intense and gruesome and makes the viewer involuntarily cringe from the physical violence.

I do still have one big issue with the film and it is with the evolution of the character of Lorie Strode. In the first film she is a pretty typical teenager, maybe a little tougher than her friends but still the girl next door. Now she has become a punk rock rebel who curses out her therapist and works in a super hip record store/coffee shop. Her bedroom is a shrine to cool and the centerpiece is a massive poster of Charles Manson over her bed. I have a hard time believing that a survivor of a serial killer's rampage would adorn her room with the image of one of the most notorious serial killers in history. I really think in his quest to make Lorie his ultimate teenager that Rob dropped the ball here.

Bottom line - I recommend the director's cut (not theatrical) to fans of horror, slashers, the Halloween franchise and Rob Zombie - but only if you've seen part one.

imdb entry for Halloween II

Movie 6 - Masters of Horror: Pelts

Our next DVD is an episode of Masters of Horror from season 2 named Pelts directed by Dario Argento in 2006. If you are not familiar with Masters of Horror, let me explain. This was every horror fan's dream! The best directors of the genre can each make a 1 hour movie. The closest equivalent would have been Tales from the Crypt, where to stories did not have to be related in any way and have no restrictions in the way of theme or tone. The idea actually came from dinner parties that Mick Garris (who directed Sleepwalkers as well as many TV movies) would hold and would invite his friends from the industry. After a while he realized that the guests were some of the top names in genre filmmaking and started to joke that they were the "Masters of Horror".

I had watched most of the first season of the show since it included some of my all time favorite directors such as Stuart Gordon, Tobe Hooper, Don Coscarelli, John Carpenter and Dario Argento. Highlights that year were Cigarette Burns, Incident On and Off A Mountain Road and Jenifer. Somewhere along the way I lost track of watching the episodes on Showtime, but still picked up a few on DVD at horror conventions.

Now this episode, Pelts, had gotten a lot of praise, but I think I was a little weary of the content and potential gruesomeness because of the subject matter. The story is about a sleazy fur trader who has some questionable morals. Aside from his work, this man's other obsession is a particular stripper at a nearby club. Overall the story is an Aesop's fable that warns you that sometimes in life you get what you deserve, but there is a lot of sex and gore used to tell the story.

The effects are amazingly realistic. Howard Berger (ex-KNB FX) does a beautiful job on these gags that center on human flesh being treated like animal skins. While they may not have the stomach for it, PETA should use this film as a war cry for their cause. Seeing the people that are affected by the curse of the sacred raccoon pelts turn on their own flesh with tools of the trade lets the audience see them vividly get their just desserts! Argento works his magic to expose the cruelty of human beings again!

Definitely recommended for fans of horror who can appreciate some well spilled blood.

Pelts listing on IMDB

 

Masters of Horror on Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Movie 5 - Paura Lucio Fulci Remembered

Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered vol. 1 is a documentary DVD made by Mike Baronas and released in 2008. We met the interviewer/producer/director of this disc a while back at the Chiller Theatre Convention where he was assisting several guests in the Euro-Horror room. I picked up his DVD out of curiosity and in a way of supporting/checking out an independent documentary producer. Since this is an area that I have done some work in, I like to see how others go about it.

I was wrong in assuming this was a documentary. It is actually a collection of sound bites from nearly 90 interviews with Fulci's peers, collaborators and actors. While the list of names ranges from the completely obscure to the extremely impressive (such as Lamberto Bava, Umberto Lenzi  and Michele Soavi) the collection does become a bit tedious. The problem is that the answers are limited to just one question - "What is your fondest memory of Lucio Fulci" - but I wanted more. While the actors were ok, I was so impressed by the range of interviewees that worked with Fulci on his films. Seeing that the effects artists, composers, cinematographers, writers, producers, costumers and more made me wonder what other stories they could tell about working on these films.

I also felt that the work feels unfinished. The clips are alright, but I found myself wishing that someone (as I raise my hand from the desk in the back of the class) should take this footage and mold it together to create a more comprehensive narrative describing the man and his legacy.

I only recommend this for die hard fans of the Godfather of Gore, Maestro Lucio Fulci. Everyone else may feel a little left out without a more traditional documentary that tells you more about Fulci's life and career.

imdb listing for Paura

 



Movie 4 - City on Fire

Todays' movie is Ringo Lam's City on Fire from 1987 starring Chow Yun-Fat. I have to be honest and say this is not my kind of movie. It's pretty standard cop flick fare with too many clichés to list. Chow Yun-Fat is charming as always as he goes back and forth in his undercover work and trying to keep up a real life, but the rest of the film falls flat. There were some good chase scenes though.

If you really love HK action and undercover cop films than you will be into this, but it didn't keep my interest. I don't recommend this one.

If you want some great Hong Kong crime action starring Chow Yun-Fat, I suggest you watch A Better Tomorrow, Hard Boiled or The Killer instead!

imdb listing for City on Fire

 

 

 

Movie 3 - Chung King Express

Next is Chungking Express by Wong Kar Wai from 1994. Quirky stories of love in the city of Hong Kong. This was definitely not what I expected. The stories are set in a dark and seedy underbelly but are actually fun and charming. Both stories revolve around cops, but instead of their hardened work lives, focus on their search for love. Great acting.

This disc was part of Tarantino's Rolling Thunder line. Check out his bit about the film in the extras.

I definitely recommend for fans of HK cinema.

imdb listing for Chung King Express

 

 

Movie 2 - The Ogre

Next up is The Ogre by Lambert Bava from 1988. Atmospheric and well done (especially since it was made for Italian TV).

Even though the cover of the DVD says Demons 3, it is definitely NOT Demons 3! Bava even says in an interview on the extras that it was never part of the Demons films. It was actually 1 of 4 stories in a series for tv that was similar to Masters of Horror.

I highly recommend for fans of giallos.

imdb listing for The Ogre

 

 

Movie 1 - Volver

The first movie to get things started is Volver from 2006 by director Pedro Almodovar.

This drama is more of a black comedy about death, relationships and superstitions and it is excellent. Penelope Cruz is so natural that you easily get drawn in. I definitely recommend to anyone that enjoys international cinema.

imdb listing for Volver

Welcome to the show

Welcome to my new blog about movies. If you know me, you know that I love movies. My favorite genres are Italian Giallos, Hong Kong Action, Japanese Samurai and Kaiju and American Sci-Fi and Horror of the 70s and 80s. But that is honestly just the start. I love movies from the early silent films all the way up to the latest blockbuster. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some films I absolutely can't stand - Inception comes to mind - but I have a great love of movies in general and will watch almost anything.

The other thing you need to know about me is that I am a collector. It started with Baseball cards I inherited when I was a kid and moved on to comic books, video games, records and cds, action figures, autographs and many more. A big part of my collections are movies. I used to collect VHS back in the day, then I moved up to Laserdisc, DVD and now Blu-ray. So as you can imagine, I own ALOT of movies. Then I got married to a guy that also collected DVDs and we combined our collections. And then we started collecting together. So now there are EVEN MORE movies.

So when it comes to collecting, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. We keep two racks of DVDs just for movies we haven't watched yet. I am on a mission to devour all the films that have been stacking up over the years.

Each entry will include the movies trailer and a short synopsis with a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Grab some popcorn and watch along at home!

 

The collection

 

The shelf in question