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KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) in Movies
Jul 18, 2020
A nice return for Michael.
Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is having nightmares of Michael Myers coming after her. When he returns to Haddonfield, Jamie and her sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) must fight for survival. Luckily, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) also returns to stop Michael.
Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.
But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!
Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.
But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) in Movies
Mar 20, 2021
Why the hell is Michaels mask not TUCKED IN!?
Why do that cop duo have clown music? Why is Danielle Harris mute for half of this? Why is Loomis still allowed to be around children/anything to do with Michael Myers at this point!?
This is where the wheels fall off of the Halloween franchise. The two stars are for the kittens. Why are there kittens? I don't have a fucking clue, but it made this film more enjoyable so I'm on board.
Why do that cop duo have clown music? Why is Danielle Harris mute for half of this? Why is Loomis still allowed to be around children/anything to do with Michael Myers at this point!?
This is where the wheels fall off of the Halloween franchise. The two stars are for the kittens. Why are there kittens? I don't have a fucking clue, but it made this film more enjoyable so I'm on board.
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated Friended To Death (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Actress turned filmmaker Sarah Smick might well be the next Nicole Sullivan should fortune smile upon her. Not many people will have seen her debut film, Old Souls, but if Friended to Death is any indication, she shows that she has the chops to create satire. Although her second film is not entirely perfect, it shows that she does have a lot to say in a screenplay that examines friendship in the real life sense.
Ryan Hansen (Zach McGowan, Veronica Mars) is a terrific actor, and he plays the perfect narcissistic jerk. As Michael Harris, he’s unsympathetic to everyone he knows, including his new mate Emil (Zach McGowan, Shameless) whom he treats poorly.
Harris is more obsessive with telling his Facebook friends what is going on in his day-to-day life. But when he gets fired from his job as a traffic cop, just what does he do next? He definitely does not go crying to his mom about it. Instead, he hatches a plot to fake his death (with the help of Emil) and look online to see who will miss him.
No one. This movie is not about saying how terrible and unsympathetic people are. Instead, it reveals that one can not treat social media as the end all be all of how relationships are defined. The screenplay is well thought out to show a hyperbole of extremes. Harris is more obsessed with what is said online than in person. At the same time, Harris does not realize that Emil is helping him despite his many reservations. He does not realize that he does have a friend who is doing his best to pull that stick out of Harris’ ass, but the further in it goes, more problems arises.
However, social media has its uses. It has a purpose in the world of business, but in society, that’s another question. When Harris uses it as his lifeblood and measure of his worth, maybe what he needs is a reality check (with perhaps a sociologist/psychologist to treat him).
The underlying themes of what this film examines is great, but sadly the execution is hit and miss. Unless viewers can actually care for the protagonist, the reason to continue watching will depend on either wanting to see how Harris’ life will pan out or wondering who the comely women in red (Sarah Smick) is involved in this plot. As Sylvie, this woman has a beef to settle with Harris, and to watch how that pans out is almost as nutty as watching an episode of MadTV. This subplot actually carries this movie a lot more, and it has all the meat to make watching this movie all the more interesting.
Ryan Hansen (Zach McGowan, Veronica Mars) is a terrific actor, and he plays the perfect narcissistic jerk. As Michael Harris, he’s unsympathetic to everyone he knows, including his new mate Emil (Zach McGowan, Shameless) whom he treats poorly.
Harris is more obsessive with telling his Facebook friends what is going on in his day-to-day life. But when he gets fired from his job as a traffic cop, just what does he do next? He definitely does not go crying to his mom about it. Instead, he hatches a plot to fake his death (with the help of Emil) and look online to see who will miss him.
No one. This movie is not about saying how terrible and unsympathetic people are. Instead, it reveals that one can not treat social media as the end all be all of how relationships are defined. The screenplay is well thought out to show a hyperbole of extremes. Harris is more obsessed with what is said online than in person. At the same time, Harris does not realize that Emil is helping him despite his many reservations. He does not realize that he does have a friend who is doing his best to pull that stick out of Harris’ ass, but the further in it goes, more problems arises.
However, social media has its uses. It has a purpose in the world of business, but in society, that’s another question. When Harris uses it as his lifeblood and measure of his worth, maybe what he needs is a reality check (with perhaps a sociologist/psychologist to treat him).
The underlying themes of what this film examines is great, but sadly the execution is hit and miss. Unless viewers can actually care for the protagonist, the reason to continue watching will depend on either wanting to see how Harris’ life will pan out or wondering who the comely women in red (Sarah Smick) is involved in this plot. As Sylvie, this woman has a beef to settle with Harris, and to watch how that pans out is almost as nutty as watching an episode of MadTV. This subplot actually carries this movie a lot more, and it has all the meat to make watching this movie all the more interesting.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) in Movies
Mar 15, 2021
Ignore the fact that Michael Myers' mask looks a bit silly in this one and there's a lot to love.
It's back-to-basics approach of Myers stalking his way though Haddonfield is a welcome one after the hospital setting of II, and the bonkers acid trip of III.
Danielle Harris displays a damn fine performance as lead kid character Jamie Lloyd, and Donald Pleasance returns again as Loomis (apparently not dead after the almost certainly fatal explosion he was right next to at the end of II), acting suitably crazy as is to be expected by now.
There are some great shots on display, once again, courtesy of the simple, striking, and terrifying look of Michael Myers (from far away this time though, seriously, the mask looks really silly close up) and the general production values are pretty decent.
It's of course not a patch on the original, but as far as sequels go, Halloween 4 is one of the better ones. Also, one character gets impaled with a shotgun, which is just ridiculous and fantastic at the same time.
It's back-to-basics approach of Myers stalking his way though Haddonfield is a welcome one after the hospital setting of II, and the bonkers acid trip of III.
Danielle Harris displays a damn fine performance as lead kid character Jamie Lloyd, and Donald Pleasance returns again as Loomis (apparently not dead after the almost certainly fatal explosion he was right next to at the end of II), acting suitably crazy as is to be expected by now.
There are some great shots on display, once again, courtesy of the simple, striking, and terrifying look of Michael Myers (from far away this time though, seriously, the mask looks really silly close up) and the general production values are pretty decent.
It's of course not a patch on the original, but as far as sequels go, Halloween 4 is one of the better ones. Also, one character gets impaled with a shotgun, which is just ridiculous and fantastic at the same time.
David McK (3162 KP) rated The Rock (1996) in Movies
Jul 12, 2023
There was a period during the late 90s, early 90s, where Nice Cage was in full action hero mode.
We're talking the likes of National Treasure, Con-Air, Face/Off. And this, his first entry in that mold from 1996.
Also starring Sean Connery in a Bind-in-all-but-name role, this sees Cage playing the part of an FBI chemical expert who has to accompany Connery and US Marines on a mission to infiltrate Alcatraz (Connery's role being as the only man to ever escape from said prison) after a group of disillusioned Marines - led by Ed Harris - seize control of the island and have chemical weapons pointing at San Francisco.
I think this may be the first Michael Bay film I ever saw; looking back on it now I can see that, even back then, it has all the hallmarks of one of his films!
We're talking the likes of National Treasure, Con-Air, Face/Off. And this, his first entry in that mold from 1996.
Also starring Sean Connery in a Bind-in-all-but-name role, this sees Cage playing the part of an FBI chemical expert who has to accompany Connery and US Marines on a mission to infiltrate Alcatraz (Connery's role being as the only man to ever escape from said prison) after a group of disillusioned Marines - led by Ed Harris - seize control of the island and have chemical weapons pointing at San Francisco.
I think this may be the first Michael Bay film I ever saw; looking back on it now I can see that, even back then, it has all the hallmarks of one of his films!
KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) in Movies
Jul 19, 2020
The fall of the franchise.
Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) now has a psychic connection with Michael Myers, she has visions showing who and where he is going to kill next.
If that sounds dumb to you, then trust me, the movie will feel dumb too.
Halloween 5 feels more like a Friday the 13th movie, filled with dumb teens getting picked off one by one, featuring some unrealistic subplot to distinguish it from other entries.
Gone is the eerie suspense, the music is a shadow of the original's score. Gone too is the tension of asking "where is Michael?" As Jamie's visions literally show us where he is.
There is also a weird change, in Halloween 4 Leslie L. Rohland played the part of Lindsey Wallace, shown as a friend to both Jamie and Rachel (Ellie Cornell), Leslie did not return for H5. In Halloween 5, they cast Wendy Foxworth as Tina Williams. What's confusing is Leslie and Tina are very similar to one another, they look alike and their characters were similar. In H5 they played off like Tina had known Jamie from before. So it begs the question, if you had to recast why not keep the same character? And if you had to change character, why not cast someone unlike Leslie? I don't know but it's always bugged me.
There are a couple of good things to say about it. Some death scenes are intense and brutal, the ending is good, intense with a decent twist.
Overall though, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the first entry in the series that really truly disappointed me, mostly due to its dumb story.
If that sounds dumb to you, then trust me, the movie will feel dumb too.
Halloween 5 feels more like a Friday the 13th movie, filled with dumb teens getting picked off one by one, featuring some unrealistic subplot to distinguish it from other entries.
Gone is the eerie suspense, the music is a shadow of the original's score. Gone too is the tension of asking "where is Michael?" As Jamie's visions literally show us where he is.
There is also a weird change, in Halloween 4 Leslie L. Rohland played the part of Lindsey Wallace, shown as a friend to both Jamie and Rachel (Ellie Cornell), Leslie did not return for H5. In Halloween 5, they cast Wendy Foxworth as Tina Williams. What's confusing is Leslie and Tina are very similar to one another, they look alike and their characters were similar. In H5 they played off like Tina had known Jamie from before. So it begs the question, if you had to recast why not keep the same character? And if you had to change character, why not cast someone unlike Leslie? I don't know but it's always bugged me.
There are a couple of good things to say about it. Some death scenes are intense and brutal, the ending is good, intense with a decent twist.
Overall though, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the first entry in the series that really truly disappointed me, mostly due to its dumb story.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Starship Troopers (1997) in Movies
Sep 22, 2020
Do you know what? Starship Troopers is a 5 star film and there's nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise.
It's 90s sci-fi at its absolute best.
It has a great cast - Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick-Harris, Jake Busey - none of them feel replaceable.
It has special effects that genuinely still.homd up over 20 years later, and also a fuck tonne of genuinely horrific practical effects - some of the violence in Starship Troopers is next level, in true Paul Verhoeven style.
It has a corny yet airtight script, it's suitably cheesy when it wants to be, and wonderfully satirical throughout.
It's also got a top tier score courtesy of Basil Poledouris.
I saw this film when I was in my early teens, a few years after it released and it has always stuck with me since. Starship Troopers is perfection, fight me.
It's 90s sci-fi at its absolute best.
It has a great cast - Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick-Harris, Jake Busey - none of them feel replaceable.
It has special effects that genuinely still.homd up over 20 years later, and also a fuck tonne of genuinely horrific practical effects - some of the violence in Starship Troopers is next level, in true Paul Verhoeven style.
It has a corny yet airtight script, it's suitably cheesy when it wants to be, and wonderfully satirical throughout.
It's also got a top tier score courtesy of Basil Poledouris.
I saw this film when I was in my early teens, a few years after it released and it has always stuck with me since. Starship Troopers is perfection, fight me.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Run All Night (2015) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Neeson at his gritty best
It’s fair to say Liam Neeson has picked some decidedly dodgy acting jobs since his rise to become an A-list Hollywood action hero. From a disappointing turn in the most recent A Team movie to the laughably bad Taken 3, he seems to have been turned from fan favourite to the butt of so many jokes.
After January’s poorly received Taken 3, Neeson returns to give the genre another go in Run All Night, but does Jaume Collet-Serra’s intriguing direction return him to the top of the food chain?
Run All Night follows the story of Neeson’s Jimmy Conlon as he does his best to keep his son Michael, played by Joel Kinnaman, away from the deadly clutches of Sean Maguire, a brutal underworld gangster portrayed by Ed Harris, after the murder of Sean’s son Danny over the course of 16 hours.
What ensues is a formulaic action thriller featuring by-the-numbers set pieces that are interspersed with some inspiring cinematography and all the actors at the top of their game.
Neeson’s Jimmy is an alcoholic former hit man, previously employed by Maguire, who has decided to move away from his shady past and become a more rounded individual. His interactions with Ed Harris’ brilliant Sean are excellent and the pair have genuine chemistry – it’s just a shame that their backstory isn’t built on a little more.
As the audience follows Jimmy and Michael evading the police, mobsters and professional hired killers, the film traces their backstory, almost using the action-packed set pieces as checkpoints for a bit more history and from a genre that rarely utilises character development, this is a welcome addition.
The cinematography is truly stunning. The sweeping shots of New York City are inspired and the use of tracking and aerial panning instead of simply fading between scenes stylises the film like no other action movie from the last few years.
There is an air of The Taking of Pelham 123 in Serra’s direction, and of course the similarities to Neeson’s Taken and Serra’s very own Non-Stop that also starred the Irish actor are obvious.
Unfortunately, all these comparisons mean that Run All Night isn’t particularly original in premise despite its unique direction. We’ve seen it all before, we saw Neeson running about and shooting bad guys in Taken, Taken 2 and Taken 3. We saw him try to get the bottom of a serious problem in Non-Stop and we saw him take on the role of a troubled alcoholic in The Grey.
Yes, after Taken 3, Run All Night showcases Neeson at his gritty best, but it’s in Ed Harris that we find the most intriguing
character and he puts everything into Sean Maguire – despite his more than familiar name.
Thankfully, Serra and the production crew steered away from creating a film that would please the masses and opted for an often brutal, yet strangely warming action thriller – along the way avoiding the pitfalls of some of Neeson’s previous efforts.
Overall, Run All Night isn’t the disaster it could have been and shows what everyone’s favourite Irish actor is capable of when given the right material to work with. Ed Harris is also on point and Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction goes above and beyond what the genre asks for.
Only an underwhelming final act and a highly unoriginal story stop it from becoming the film it so deeply wanted to be.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/03/15/neeson-at-his-gritty-best-run-all-night-review/
After January’s poorly received Taken 3, Neeson returns to give the genre another go in Run All Night, but does Jaume Collet-Serra’s intriguing direction return him to the top of the food chain?
Run All Night follows the story of Neeson’s Jimmy Conlon as he does his best to keep his son Michael, played by Joel Kinnaman, away from the deadly clutches of Sean Maguire, a brutal underworld gangster portrayed by Ed Harris, after the murder of Sean’s son Danny over the course of 16 hours.
What ensues is a formulaic action thriller featuring by-the-numbers set pieces that are interspersed with some inspiring cinematography and all the actors at the top of their game.
Neeson’s Jimmy is an alcoholic former hit man, previously employed by Maguire, who has decided to move away from his shady past and become a more rounded individual. His interactions with Ed Harris’ brilliant Sean are excellent and the pair have genuine chemistry – it’s just a shame that their backstory isn’t built on a little more.
As the audience follows Jimmy and Michael evading the police, mobsters and professional hired killers, the film traces their backstory, almost using the action-packed set pieces as checkpoints for a bit more history and from a genre that rarely utilises character development, this is a welcome addition.
The cinematography is truly stunning. The sweeping shots of New York City are inspired and the use of tracking and aerial panning instead of simply fading between scenes stylises the film like no other action movie from the last few years.
There is an air of The Taking of Pelham 123 in Serra’s direction, and of course the similarities to Neeson’s Taken and Serra’s very own Non-Stop that also starred the Irish actor are obvious.
Unfortunately, all these comparisons mean that Run All Night isn’t particularly original in premise despite its unique direction. We’ve seen it all before, we saw Neeson running about and shooting bad guys in Taken, Taken 2 and Taken 3. We saw him try to get the bottom of a serious problem in Non-Stop and we saw him take on the role of a troubled alcoholic in The Grey.
Yes, after Taken 3, Run All Night showcases Neeson at his gritty best, but it’s in Ed Harris that we find the most intriguing
character and he puts everything into Sean Maguire – despite his more than familiar name.
Thankfully, Serra and the production crew steered away from creating a film that would please the masses and opted for an often brutal, yet strangely warming action thriller – along the way avoiding the pitfalls of some of Neeson’s previous efforts.
Overall, Run All Night isn’t the disaster it could have been and shows what everyone’s favourite Irish actor is capable of when given the right material to work with. Ed Harris is also on point and Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction goes above and beyond what the genre asks for.
Only an underwhelming final act and a highly unoriginal story stop it from becoming the film it so deeply wanted to be.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/03/15/neeson-at-his-gritty-best-run-all-night-review/
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Jun 3, 2021
The original Halloween is such a goddam incredible movie, that anytime the franchise has tried to stray too far from its roots, the wheels just come off. The psychic stuff in Halloween 5 just didn't work. The cult stuff in Halloween 6 just didn't work. The found footage stuff in Resurrection just didn't work. This time around, it's a remake of the original, directed by Rob Zombie. His particular brand of hateful characters and nasty dialogue can be effective in other corners of horror, but when applied to the Halloween template, you guessed it, it just doesn't work.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Oct 10, 2018
A successful re-imagining but turned up to 11!
When I first heard director Rob Zombie was going to have a hand at Halloween, I couldn't have been more excited. His films up to that point had been intense, scary, gruesome, gothic, sexual and down-rite awesome!
This reinvention had big shoes to fill since the original Halloween is not only a scary movie classic, but invented or perfected a lot of horror elements still used in films today.
The additions to the story proved successful seeing a lot more scenes of Michael as a child, his dysfunctional family roots (which could have been part of his inner demons) and more details around his escape from the psychiatric hospital. Then the original story plays out as you are familiar; although, more intense and evil.
The third act does seem to drag out just a bit as the movie is around 2 hours in length.
Great to see a lot of "B" movie actors appear in the film including Malcolm McDowell, Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace and Richard Lynch. Also Danielle Harris who was the little girl in parts 4 & 5 is also there as another homage.
Overall, a successful reboot with enough mixture of old and new to keep me very well entertained.
This reinvention had big shoes to fill since the original Halloween is not only a scary movie classic, but invented or perfected a lot of horror elements still used in films today.
The additions to the story proved successful seeing a lot more scenes of Michael as a child, his dysfunctional family roots (which could have been part of his inner demons) and more details around his escape from the psychiatric hospital. Then the original story plays out as you are familiar; although, more intense and evil.
The third act does seem to drag out just a bit as the movie is around 2 hours in length.
Great to see a lot of "B" movie actors appear in the film including Malcolm McDowell, Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace and Richard Lynch. Also Danielle Harris who was the little girl in parts 4 & 5 is also there as another homage.
Overall, a successful reboot with enough mixture of old and new to keep me very well entertained.