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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Scream (1996) in Movies
Apr 22, 2020 (Updated May 9, 2020)
1996 was a time where slasher horror had become boring. The quality of countless sequels for certain franchises had dipped dramatically, and Wes Craven intended to give the whole thing a jump start with Scream. It's safe to say that he succeeded in that respect.
I was 8 years old when Scream release, and I remember the buzz around it. Other kids in my school would talk about how their older siblings had managed to rent a copy, and just how shocking it was, and in the years since it released, Scream has gone from that excitable buzz to a bonafide genre classic.
Obviously, the screenplays self awareness was a game changer. Characters constantly talking about horror movie 'rules' whilst doing the exact opposite, dialogue about upcoming sequels etc. Even the antagonist Ghostface has a slightly goofy look, and it's this tongue in cheek approach that was immediately imitated by others, although never quite as well.
That's not to say that Scream doesn't have it's fair share of horror. It's a bloody film for sure, and even though it's scares aren't major by today's standards, it's easy to see why it gained the clout it did.
The cast is headed up by Neve Campbell, as extremely likable final girl Sidney Prescott. Sidney is fleshed out enough for the viewer to really get inside, and isn't just there for eye candy. She is joined by the likes of Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy and Drew Barrymore in an all round decent cast.
Honestly though, I can't heap enough praise at Matthew Lillard for his absolute batshit crazy performance. Guy deserves more recognition for that commitment.
Scream isn't the best horror movie I've ever seen, but as I said above, it's a genre classic, and certainly changed the face of horror. A definite win for Wes Craven.
I was 8 years old when Scream release, and I remember the buzz around it. Other kids in my school would talk about how their older siblings had managed to rent a copy, and just how shocking it was, and in the years since it released, Scream has gone from that excitable buzz to a bonafide genre classic.
Obviously, the screenplays self awareness was a game changer. Characters constantly talking about horror movie 'rules' whilst doing the exact opposite, dialogue about upcoming sequels etc. Even the antagonist Ghostface has a slightly goofy look, and it's this tongue in cheek approach that was immediately imitated by others, although never quite as well.
That's not to say that Scream doesn't have it's fair share of horror. It's a bloody film for sure, and even though it's scares aren't major by today's standards, it's easy to see why it gained the clout it did.
The cast is headed up by Neve Campbell, as extremely likable final girl Sidney Prescott. Sidney is fleshed out enough for the viewer to really get inside, and isn't just there for eye candy. She is joined by the likes of Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy and Drew Barrymore in an all round decent cast.
Honestly though, I can't heap enough praise at Matthew Lillard for his absolute batshit crazy performance. Guy deserves more recognition for that commitment.
Scream isn't the best horror movie I've ever seen, but as I said above, it's a genre classic, and certainly changed the face of horror. A definite win for Wes Craven.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Hellboy (2019) in Movies
Nov 14, 2019
This sort of soft reboot of Hellboy is a truly mixed bag. It's just about watchable, and there are some things I liked, and a whole heap of things I didn't like.
Let's start with the negatives - the absolute biggest problems with Hellboy is the editing and pacing.
The quick cuts and bizzarre transitions that happen often are incredibly jarring, and stops the narrative running smoothly for much of the duration.
It almost feels as if the film has been designed for someone who gets bored easily, and will shoehorn in a new scene before giving you the chance to take in the previous one.
It also plays havoc with a lot of the already mediocre (and sometimes cringe-worthy) script - a good example of this comes right at the beginning, as Hellboy is introduced us, searching for an MIA fellow agent.... Its here that Ian McShane's character explains to Hellboy over the phone, what this agent was doing when he went missing, only for Hellboy to himself repeat it to another character seconds later - it's weird and feels lazy.
Another issue is something I seem to complain about a lot recently - CGI. A lot of the CGI throughout is not great, and it's again, a complete mixed bag. Some of the practical effects look fine. The big demons glimpsed in the trailer look fine. And then everywhere else it just shits the bed, most glaringly when it comes to Ben Daimio, a character from the comics who should be an exciting inclusion, but is dragged down buy just how awful it looks.
Another thing I also disliked was the insistence of having 'cool' rock songs playing every two minutes, especially in fight scenes that would otherwise have been entertaining. At times, it felt like I was watching Suicide Squad all over again, which is never a good thing.
A lot of the acting throughout Hellboy is also stale and unenthused. Milla Jovovich is particularly uninspiring as The Blood Queen (a villain from the comics that never enthralled me in the first place), Daniel Dae Kim (Ben Daimio) and Sasha Lane (Alice Monaghan) just seem embarrassed to be involved at all.
This does bring me on to the things a liked about Hellboy though - David Harbour won me over pretty quickly as the titular half demon, he provides the movies sparse humour, and the make up work is great - he does his absolute best to hold it all together.
Ian McShane is good also, but come on, it's Ian McShane man.
Even if they aren't represented perfectly, I still liked seeing a lot of characters from the comic book, and my love for Lobster Johnson is strong.
The monster designs are pretty great for the most part, Baba Yaga looks skin crawling, and as I said, the big demons seen in the trailers are pretty horrifying.
The violence and gore is unfortunately, mostly CGI, but is pretty effective for the most part, even if it does feel like the movie is sometimes packing in an R rating to disguise the averageness of everything else.
As mentioned above, some of the action pieces are pretty fun, but I must say, the climax of the movie is pretty underwhelming.
I didn't find Hellboy as horrible as some people made it out to be - it's certainly not as good as the original two films (although I find the first one to be quite average as it is!) but it still has some credibility, even if it's a small amount.
Unfortunately, for every step Hellboy takes forward, it's takes two back, resulting in a messy and muddled film that struggles to find an identity, and it's reeks of studio meddling.
Still though, Big Mo Harris shooting an Uzi is always a pleasure 👍
Let's start with the negatives - the absolute biggest problems with Hellboy is the editing and pacing.
The quick cuts and bizzarre transitions that happen often are incredibly jarring, and stops the narrative running smoothly for much of the duration.
It almost feels as if the film has been designed for someone who gets bored easily, and will shoehorn in a new scene before giving you the chance to take in the previous one.
It also plays havoc with a lot of the already mediocre (and sometimes cringe-worthy) script - a good example of this comes right at the beginning, as Hellboy is introduced us, searching for an MIA fellow agent.... Its here that Ian McShane's character explains to Hellboy over the phone, what this agent was doing when he went missing, only for Hellboy to himself repeat it to another character seconds later - it's weird and feels lazy.
Another issue is something I seem to complain about a lot recently - CGI. A lot of the CGI throughout is not great, and it's again, a complete mixed bag. Some of the practical effects look fine. The big demons glimpsed in the trailer look fine. And then everywhere else it just shits the bed, most glaringly when it comes to Ben Daimio, a character from the comics who should be an exciting inclusion, but is dragged down buy just how awful it looks.
Another thing I also disliked was the insistence of having 'cool' rock songs playing every two minutes, especially in fight scenes that would otherwise have been entertaining. At times, it felt like I was watching Suicide Squad all over again, which is never a good thing.
A lot of the acting throughout Hellboy is also stale and unenthused. Milla Jovovich is particularly uninspiring as The Blood Queen (a villain from the comics that never enthralled me in the first place), Daniel Dae Kim (Ben Daimio) and Sasha Lane (Alice Monaghan) just seem embarrassed to be involved at all.
This does bring me on to the things a liked about Hellboy though - David Harbour won me over pretty quickly as the titular half demon, he provides the movies sparse humour, and the make up work is great - he does his absolute best to hold it all together.
Ian McShane is good also, but come on, it's Ian McShane man.
Even if they aren't represented perfectly, I still liked seeing a lot of characters from the comic book, and my love for Lobster Johnson is strong.
The monster designs are pretty great for the most part, Baba Yaga looks skin crawling, and as I said, the big demons seen in the trailers are pretty horrifying.
The violence and gore is unfortunately, mostly CGI, but is pretty effective for the most part, even if it does feel like the movie is sometimes packing in an R rating to disguise the averageness of everything else.
As mentioned above, some of the action pieces are pretty fun, but I must say, the climax of the movie is pretty underwhelming.
I didn't find Hellboy as horrible as some people made it out to be - it's certainly not as good as the original two films (although I find the first one to be quite average as it is!) but it still has some credibility, even if it's a small amount.
Unfortunately, for every step Hellboy takes forward, it's takes two back, resulting in a messy and muddled film that struggles to find an identity, and it's reeks of studio meddling.
Still though, Big Mo Harris shooting an Uzi is always a pleasure 👍