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Andy K (10823 KP) rated Poltergeist (1982) in Movies
Oct 25, 2019
The TV People!
When the Freeling family moved into their suburban California home, little did they know what they were getting themselves into! Minor oddities began showing themselves like chairs stacking in the kitchen lights flashing or even being pulled across the kitchen floor. It felt like a "tickle". The situation quickly grows more severe as a tree outside the children's room plunges inside and tries to ingest son, Robbie. Simultaneously, a gateway of sorts opens in the children's room eventually pulling the entire contents into its closet vortex including youngest daughter, Carol Anne.
Parents Steve and Diane have little option but to accept "professional" help. The Ghostbusters were not available since that film was not released until 2 years later. Instead, they convince a doctor and paranormal scientists to enter there home to record some of these events and provide some answers if they can. Eventually, the Dr. summons a spiritual medium who says someone must enter the void and rescue Carol Anne from the evil which surrounds her. After apparent success, the house is considered "clean".
I wonder if it will stay that way?
Over the years lots of interesting facts about the film and production have emerged including the Poltergeist "curse" since a prominent cast member passed away after each film was completed. Tragically, oldest daughter, Dana, played by actress Dominique Dunne, was strangled by her boyfriend and pronounced brain dead a few days later.
Spielberg was hot off Raiders of the Lost Ark at the time so was busy with one production after another. Immediately following the wrap of filming of Poltergeist he filmed E. T. The Extra Terrestrial, but was still heavily involved in post production. It has been widely speculated Spielberg even directed some of Poltergieist due to having control issues or maybe not liking what credited director Tobe Hooper was doing.
Drew Barrymore auditioned for Carol Ann, but didn't get the role. Obviously, she was remembered and given her breakout role in E.T. when it was also released in 1982.
So much of the movie is still remembered including the menacing tree, the clown scene with Robbie and a rich, interesting screenplay Spielberg himself wrote. The line "They're Here" is listed on the AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIE QUOTES list at #69. As with a lot of Spielberg's early work, the affect of slowing building tension and the starting out "normal" and moving toward higher tension gradually is a staple and works amazingly well here.
I will admit some of the optical effects used now look a bit dated by today's standards of film perfection; however, does not diminish the scares, creeps or overall feel of this horror classic one bit. The score by Jerry Goldsmith is haunting, foreboding and captures the magic of the Freeling household perfectly.
I love the production design in the house especially the children's bedroom. There must have been some inside joke between Spielberg and George Lucas who had just collaborated on Raiders of the Lost Ark as their room is filled with Star Wars licensing of every type (so was mine as a kid) including action figures, bedding, movie posters and even clothing. I do draw the line at the Alien poster on the wall, through, as I don't think a 5 and 8 year old would have seen that film so young.
One other funny thing which us older folk take for granted is a network actually going off the air and showing just snow. This fact happened every day before the days of the 24 television cycle and would be completely foreign to the younger generation. Oh how things have changed.
I revisit this film often and is one of my Halloween traditions every few years. I should probably upgrade my 20 years old DVD copy for a fresh Blu Ray. Add it to the list! đ
Parents Steve and Diane have little option but to accept "professional" help. The Ghostbusters were not available since that film was not released until 2 years later. Instead, they convince a doctor and paranormal scientists to enter there home to record some of these events and provide some answers if they can. Eventually, the Dr. summons a spiritual medium who says someone must enter the void and rescue Carol Anne from the evil which surrounds her. After apparent success, the house is considered "clean".
I wonder if it will stay that way?
Over the years lots of interesting facts about the film and production have emerged including the Poltergeist "curse" since a prominent cast member passed away after each film was completed. Tragically, oldest daughter, Dana, played by actress Dominique Dunne, was strangled by her boyfriend and pronounced brain dead a few days later.
Spielberg was hot off Raiders of the Lost Ark at the time so was busy with one production after another. Immediately following the wrap of filming of Poltergeist he filmed E. T. The Extra Terrestrial, but was still heavily involved in post production. It has been widely speculated Spielberg even directed some of Poltergieist due to having control issues or maybe not liking what credited director Tobe Hooper was doing.
Drew Barrymore auditioned for Carol Ann, but didn't get the role. Obviously, she was remembered and given her breakout role in E.T. when it was also released in 1982.
So much of the movie is still remembered including the menacing tree, the clown scene with Robbie and a rich, interesting screenplay Spielberg himself wrote. The line "They're Here" is listed on the AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIE QUOTES list at #69. As with a lot of Spielberg's early work, the affect of slowing building tension and the starting out "normal" and moving toward higher tension gradually is a staple and works amazingly well here.
I will admit some of the optical effects used now look a bit dated by today's standards of film perfection; however, does not diminish the scares, creeps or overall feel of this horror classic one bit. The score by Jerry Goldsmith is haunting, foreboding and captures the magic of the Freeling household perfectly.
I love the production design in the house especially the children's bedroom. There must have been some inside joke between Spielberg and George Lucas who had just collaborated on Raiders of the Lost Ark as their room is filled with Star Wars licensing of every type (so was mine as a kid) including action figures, bedding, movie posters and even clothing. I do draw the line at the Alien poster on the wall, through, as I don't think a 5 and 8 year old would have seen that film so young.
One other funny thing which us older folk take for granted is a network actually going off the air and showing just snow. This fact happened every day before the days of the 24 television cycle and would be completely foreign to the younger generation. Oh how things have changed.
I revisit this film often and is one of my Halloween traditions every few years. I should probably upgrade my 20 years old DVD copy for a fresh Blu Ray. Add it to the list! đ
Darren (1599 KP) rated Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Noticeable Small Sequel
Story: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation starts straight after the first film, the humans know have the upper hand in the war against the bugs with more soldiers on the ground ready for battle. We follow a small unit that find themselves surrounded in a night assault, who seek refuge in an abandoned outpost, deep in the bug territory.
The unit finds Captain Dax (Burgi) locked away inside, while the unit gets surrounded Lei Sahara (Porch) does what she can to save her unit against her LT Dill (Monoson) who wants to get involved in paperwork and ranks, when the real enemy is a new threat they have never seen before.
Thoughts on Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Characters â Captain VJ Dax is the officer found trapped in the outpost, once a hero of the war now a disgraced man, he is the only one that seems to know how to fight back on a more aggressive way than other soldiers are. He will demand the best from the soldiers no matter how it might see him clash with the others. Pvt Lei Sahara is one of the strongest members of the unit, she is a weak psychic that gets visions that donât always get taken seriously, she makes the rash decision to release Dax. LT Pavlov Dill is the inexperienced soldier put in a position of power that is more interested in dealing with the ranks and orders than saving the soldierâs lives. Pvt Soda is one of the soldiers saved that needs medical attention, though she isnât everything she looks like.
Performances â Richard Burgi is the best of the performers here, he does continue the tone of a strong military man, while most of the rest of the cast donât reach this level. Colleen Porch does handle the serious side of the film well too.
Story â The story continues the war between humans and bugs, only this time we see the soldiers cornered in battle which will see them finding an enemy coming from within. The story here does scale back big time what we are dealing with, giving us a small unit that must battle from within one location instead of different warzones. We do move the story on from the original as we see just how humans once again understatement an enemy, as well as providing more to the bug intelligence that we are seeing. One of the problems with the story though does come from the fact we are making the story more contained, this doesnât help on the idea of the large scale war going on, this conflicts the audience into seeing almost like a small chapter of the war over the next battle for victory.
Action/Sci-Fi â The action does continue to be large scale shooting between the humans aiming for the bugs that donât stop, while the sci-fi is more horror based with the idea of the new bug that no human has seen before.
Settings â The film does use the outpost as the main setting, it would be a safehouse for the soldiers during the attack, though just how safe is a different question.
Special Effects â The effects while given a much small budget, donât look bad at all, they continue to make the bugs look terrifying for anybody that comes across them.
Scene of the Movie â Stand off on the roof.
That Moment That Annoyed Me â We try to swap genres doing an alien to aliens reverse tone for the film, that just doesnât work.
Final Thoughts â This is a sequel that doesnât live up to the original, it does try to do something different, though it just fails to make everything hit the heights of the original.
Overall: Simple Sequel.
Story: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation starts straight after the first film, the humans know have the upper hand in the war against the bugs with more soldiers on the ground ready for battle. We follow a small unit that find themselves surrounded in a night assault, who seek refuge in an abandoned outpost, deep in the bug territory.
The unit finds Captain Dax (Burgi) locked away inside, while the unit gets surrounded Lei Sahara (Porch) does what she can to save her unit against her LT Dill (Monoson) who wants to get involved in paperwork and ranks, when the real enemy is a new threat they have never seen before.
Thoughts on Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Characters â Captain VJ Dax is the officer found trapped in the outpost, once a hero of the war now a disgraced man, he is the only one that seems to know how to fight back on a more aggressive way than other soldiers are. He will demand the best from the soldiers no matter how it might see him clash with the others. Pvt Lei Sahara is one of the strongest members of the unit, she is a weak psychic that gets visions that donât always get taken seriously, she makes the rash decision to release Dax. LT Pavlov Dill is the inexperienced soldier put in a position of power that is more interested in dealing with the ranks and orders than saving the soldierâs lives. Pvt Soda is one of the soldiers saved that needs medical attention, though she isnât everything she looks like.
Performances â Richard Burgi is the best of the performers here, he does continue the tone of a strong military man, while most of the rest of the cast donât reach this level. Colleen Porch does handle the serious side of the film well too.
Story â The story continues the war between humans and bugs, only this time we see the soldiers cornered in battle which will see them finding an enemy coming from within. The story here does scale back big time what we are dealing with, giving us a small unit that must battle from within one location instead of different warzones. We do move the story on from the original as we see just how humans once again understatement an enemy, as well as providing more to the bug intelligence that we are seeing. One of the problems with the story though does come from the fact we are making the story more contained, this doesnât help on the idea of the large scale war going on, this conflicts the audience into seeing almost like a small chapter of the war over the next battle for victory.
Action/Sci-Fi â The action does continue to be large scale shooting between the humans aiming for the bugs that donât stop, while the sci-fi is more horror based with the idea of the new bug that no human has seen before.
Settings â The film does use the outpost as the main setting, it would be a safehouse for the soldiers during the attack, though just how safe is a different question.
Special Effects â The effects while given a much small budget, donât look bad at all, they continue to make the bugs look terrifying for anybody that comes across them.
Scene of the Movie â Stand off on the roof.
That Moment That Annoyed Me â We try to swap genres doing an alien to aliens reverse tone for the film, that just doesnât work.
Final Thoughts â This is a sequel that doesnât live up to the original, it does try to do something different, though it just fails to make everything hit the heights of the original.
Overall: Simple Sequel.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
What would you do if you discovered you had superpowers in adolescence? How would you juggle being a fighter for justice and try to have a normal teenage experience? Spider-Man: Homecoming offers a more realistic look at how this would take place. Where the previous series of films never seemed to make that connection of balancing oneâs youth and the varied problems that come during that period with what it means to be a superhero. The Tobey Maguire and the forgettable Andrew Garfield portrayals relied on a more comic book look and storylines to bring audiences to the theaters. This is not the case for the newest iteration. The film is not presumptuous or pretentious in its approach.
Tom Holland returns to the Marvel Universe as Spider-Man after being introduced in Captain America: Civil War. In this version, the audience is not subjected to an origin story to carry the bulk of the film. Instead, it addresses the issues of Spider-Manâs genesis in the previous film so that audiences can arrive in their seats ready to watch the action unfold. From the first opening frames of the films, we bear witness to the development of this story which builds off of The Avengers as we are introduced to Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), owner of a salvage company tasked with cleaning up the city. Upon his operation, he and his crew begin to discover the power of the alien equipment that they begin to sell on the black market. The development of this character is done with more care than previous films where the villainsâ backstories rely simply on jealousy, seeking power, or just a thirst for chaos. The film shows a man who feels wronged by the system and simply wants to provide for his family. We are allowed to make a connection with âThe Vultureâ that makes us question if whether we would do anything much differently than he.
The same development is demonstrated with Tom Hollandâs portrayal of Spider-Man. He is thrust into this role through the encouragement of Tony Stark, but when Stark doesnât return his calls or seem to express interest after the battle scene in Captain America: Civil War, he tries to demonstrate his worth through becoming a local superhero. With that new calling, to paraphrase a statement made popular in Spider-Man, comes great responsibility. He must balance his life and try to compartmentalize his existence. The film does not disappoint in allowing the viewers to see Peter Parker as more than Spider-Man. They begin to see all the varied aspects of who he is and his rationale for being a superhero. We bear witness to the pain that he feels in having to keep his identity a secret from his friends and Aunt Mae. His superpowers and abilities come to be seen as a heavy burden that begins pulling him apart. He has to grow and understand who he is in order to be capable of everything he seeks to be.
Spider-Man Homecoming does not disappoint. It is by far, the best Marvel film made due to its ability to connect with fans of different ages and interests. The film is fun, funny, creative, and will have viewers forget about any previous versions and films. Tom Holland is the perfect fit for Peter Parker and an even better fit for Spider-Man. The film is mature, filled with depth, emotion, and many connections to other superhero films in the Marvel cinematic universe. It is well on its way to ensuring that the franchise will have a long life.
Tom Holland returns to the Marvel Universe as Spider-Man after being introduced in Captain America: Civil War. In this version, the audience is not subjected to an origin story to carry the bulk of the film. Instead, it addresses the issues of Spider-Manâs genesis in the previous film so that audiences can arrive in their seats ready to watch the action unfold. From the first opening frames of the films, we bear witness to the development of this story which builds off of The Avengers as we are introduced to Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), owner of a salvage company tasked with cleaning up the city. Upon his operation, he and his crew begin to discover the power of the alien equipment that they begin to sell on the black market. The development of this character is done with more care than previous films where the villainsâ backstories rely simply on jealousy, seeking power, or just a thirst for chaos. The film shows a man who feels wronged by the system and simply wants to provide for his family. We are allowed to make a connection with âThe Vultureâ that makes us question if whether we would do anything much differently than he.
The same development is demonstrated with Tom Hollandâs portrayal of Spider-Man. He is thrust into this role through the encouragement of Tony Stark, but when Stark doesnât return his calls or seem to express interest after the battle scene in Captain America: Civil War, he tries to demonstrate his worth through becoming a local superhero. With that new calling, to paraphrase a statement made popular in Spider-Man, comes great responsibility. He must balance his life and try to compartmentalize his existence. The film does not disappoint in allowing the viewers to see Peter Parker as more than Spider-Man. They begin to see all the varied aspects of who he is and his rationale for being a superhero. We bear witness to the pain that he feels in having to keep his identity a secret from his friends and Aunt Mae. His superpowers and abilities come to be seen as a heavy burden that begins pulling him apart. He has to grow and understand who he is in order to be capable of everything he seeks to be.
Spider-Man Homecoming does not disappoint. It is by far, the best Marvel film made due to its ability to connect with fans of different ages and interests. The film is fun, funny, creative, and will have viewers forget about any previous versions and films. Tom Holland is the perfect fit for Peter Parker and an even better fit for Spider-Man. The film is mature, filled with depth, emotion, and many connections to other superhero films in the Marvel cinematic universe. It is well on its way to ensuring that the franchise will have a long life.
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
âWeâre trudging through the slushâ.
Unlike its animated namesake, âThe Snowmanâ is not a good film. Frustratingly it has all the right ingredients:
A story by bestselling Nordic writer Jo Nesbø;
Gorgeously photogenic snowy scenes of Oslo and Bergen;
A stellar cast (Michael Fassbender (âAlien: Covenantâ); Rebecca Ferguson (âMission Impossible: Rogue Nationâ); J.K. Simmons (âWhiplashâ); Toby Jones (âDadâs Armyâ); Chloe Sevigny (âLove and Friendshipâ); Charlotte Gainsbourg (âIndependence Day: Resurgenceâ, very sexy as Fassbenderâs ex-squeeze) and even Val Kilmer (âTop Gunâ, whose mother â interesting fact â is actually Swedish).
snowman2
That sinking feeling when you realise youâve been drinking all night and its too late for bed before work.
And while these elements congeal in the snow together quite well as vignettes, the whole film jerks from vignette to vignette in a most unsatisfactory way. I havenât read the book (which might be much better) but the inclusion in the (terrible!) trailers of key scenes that never made the final cut (where was the fire for example?, the fish? the man trap?) implied to me that the director (Tomas Alfredson, âTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyâ) and screenwriting team â Peter Straughan (also âTinker, Tailorâ), Hossein Amini (âThe Two Faces of Januaryâ) and Søren Sveistrup (TVâs âThe Killingâ) â either didnât have (or didnât agree on) the direction they wanted the film to go in.
Film Title: The Snowman
Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons) and Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson) having a âWeinstein momentâ at the hotel.
Nesbø (and indeed most crime writers these days) litter their work with damaged copsâŚ. you have to question whether the detective application form has a mandatory check-box with âalcoholic and borderline psychoâ on it!. This film is no exception. Fassbender plays Nesbøâs master sleuth Harry Hole: an alcoholic insomniac well off the rails between homicide cases. âIf only Oslo had a higher murder rateâ bemoans his boss (Ronan Vibert). He joins forces with newby officer Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson), who has her fair share of mental demons to fight, in investigating a series of missing person/murder cases. The duo unearth a link between the cases â all happen when the snow starts to fall and to particular types of women, with the protagonist leaving a snowman at the scene.
snowman5
One of the cuter snowmen⌠they get worse⌠much worse.
The plot is highly formulaic â I guessed who the killer was within about 20 minutes. But what makes this movie stand out, for all the wrong reasons, is that it has one of the most stupid, vacuous, flaccid, inane, ridiculous ⌠(add 50 other thesaurus entries)⌠endings imaginable. My mouth actually gaped in astonishment!
There are also a surprisingly large number of loose ends you ponder after the film ends: why the âSnowmanââs fixation with Harry?; what was with the âVetlesen cleanerâ subplot? How is Star Trek transportation possible in Norway? (But wait⌠âTelemarkâ⌠âTeleportââŚ. coincidence????? đ
On the plus side, there is some lovely Norwegian drone cinematography â (by Australian Dion Beebe (âEdge of Tomorrowâ) â that immediately made me put âtravel by winter train from Oslo to Bergenâ on my life-map. The music by Marco Beltrami (âLoganâ) is also effective and suitably Hitchcockian.
If you like your films gory, this one is definitely for you, with some pretty graphic content that (for those who like to cover their eyes) is cut to so quickly by editors Thelma Schoonmaker (âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ) and Claire Simpson (âFar From The Madding Crowdâ) that your hands wonât have time to leave your lap! I remember this being a feature of a previous Nesbø adaptation (the much better âHeadhuntersâ from 2011) but here it goes into overdrive.
snowman1
One of my favourite actresses â Rebecca Ferguson, curiously playing much âyoungerâ in this film than she appears in her previous hits.
Overall this was a rather disappointing effort that was heading for a FFf rating. But just because of that ending Iâm knocking a whole extra Fad off!
A story by bestselling Nordic writer Jo Nesbø;
Gorgeously photogenic snowy scenes of Oslo and Bergen;
A stellar cast (Michael Fassbender (âAlien: Covenantâ); Rebecca Ferguson (âMission Impossible: Rogue Nationâ); J.K. Simmons (âWhiplashâ); Toby Jones (âDadâs Armyâ); Chloe Sevigny (âLove and Friendshipâ); Charlotte Gainsbourg (âIndependence Day: Resurgenceâ, very sexy as Fassbenderâs ex-squeeze) and even Val Kilmer (âTop Gunâ, whose mother â interesting fact â is actually Swedish).
snowman2
That sinking feeling when you realise youâve been drinking all night and its too late for bed before work.
And while these elements congeal in the snow together quite well as vignettes, the whole film jerks from vignette to vignette in a most unsatisfactory way. I havenât read the book (which might be much better) but the inclusion in the (terrible!) trailers of key scenes that never made the final cut (where was the fire for example?, the fish? the man trap?) implied to me that the director (Tomas Alfredson, âTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyâ) and screenwriting team â Peter Straughan (also âTinker, Tailorâ), Hossein Amini (âThe Two Faces of Januaryâ) and Søren Sveistrup (TVâs âThe Killingâ) â either didnât have (or didnât agree on) the direction they wanted the film to go in.
Film Title: The Snowman
Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons) and Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson) having a âWeinstein momentâ at the hotel.
Nesbø (and indeed most crime writers these days) litter their work with damaged copsâŚ. you have to question whether the detective application form has a mandatory check-box with âalcoholic and borderline psychoâ on it!. This film is no exception. Fassbender plays Nesbøâs master sleuth Harry Hole: an alcoholic insomniac well off the rails between homicide cases. âIf only Oslo had a higher murder rateâ bemoans his boss (Ronan Vibert). He joins forces with newby officer Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson), who has her fair share of mental demons to fight, in investigating a series of missing person/murder cases. The duo unearth a link between the cases â all happen when the snow starts to fall and to particular types of women, with the protagonist leaving a snowman at the scene.
snowman5
One of the cuter snowmen⌠they get worse⌠much worse.
The plot is highly formulaic â I guessed who the killer was within about 20 minutes. But what makes this movie stand out, for all the wrong reasons, is that it has one of the most stupid, vacuous, flaccid, inane, ridiculous ⌠(add 50 other thesaurus entries)⌠endings imaginable. My mouth actually gaped in astonishment!
There are also a surprisingly large number of loose ends you ponder after the film ends: why the âSnowmanââs fixation with Harry?; what was with the âVetlesen cleanerâ subplot? How is Star Trek transportation possible in Norway? (But wait⌠âTelemarkâ⌠âTeleportââŚ. coincidence????? đ
On the plus side, there is some lovely Norwegian drone cinematography â (by Australian Dion Beebe (âEdge of Tomorrowâ) â that immediately made me put âtravel by winter train from Oslo to Bergenâ on my life-map. The music by Marco Beltrami (âLoganâ) is also effective and suitably Hitchcockian.
If you like your films gory, this one is definitely for you, with some pretty graphic content that (for those who like to cover their eyes) is cut to so quickly by editors Thelma Schoonmaker (âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ) and Claire Simpson (âFar From The Madding Crowdâ) that your hands wonât have time to leave your lap! I remember this being a feature of a previous Nesbø adaptation (the much better âHeadhuntersâ from 2011) but here it goes into overdrive.
snowman1
One of my favourite actresses â Rebecca Ferguson, curiously playing much âyoungerâ in this film than she appears in her previous hits.
Overall this was a rather disappointing effort that was heading for a FFf rating. But just because of that ending Iâm knocking a whole extra Fad off!