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Awix (3310 KP) rated Halloween (1978) in Movies
Oct 30, 2020
John Carpenter's landmark horror movie; not the first slasher movie, but pretty much the textbook example of the genre. A homicidal maniac (and, just possibly, vessel of pure evil) breaks out of an institution and returns to his home town, where he murdered his sister at the age of six. Obsessive doctor Donald Pleasence is in hot pursuit, but Jamie Lee Curtis (in her debut) is about to find that babysitting really deserves danger money...
Always interesting to watch these classic horror films back on the big screen: as usual, there was a lot of nervous sniggering at some of the technical shortcomings of a low-budget production (plus Halloween has been so extensively ripped off and parodied it's the kind of film you feel you've seen before, even if you haven't). However, there were yelps and screams in the appropriate places as the film got going: Carpenter handles the jump scares with consummate technical skill, but it works as well as it does because of the atmosphere he creates, helped mainly by Pleasance. A film that really sets out to do only one thing, and for the most part achieves that brilliantly.
Always interesting to watch these classic horror films back on the big screen: as usual, there was a lot of nervous sniggering at some of the technical shortcomings of a low-budget production (plus Halloween has been so extensively ripped off and parodied it's the kind of film you feel you've seen before, even if you haven't). However, there were yelps and screams in the appropriate places as the film got going: Carpenter handles the jump scares with consummate technical skill, but it works as well as it does because of the atmosphere he creates, helped mainly by Pleasance. A film that really sets out to do only one thing, and for the most part achieves that brilliantly.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Big Trouble in Little China (1986) in Movies
Feb 10, 2021
Jack Burton's Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China- is a excellent fantasy martial arts action-comedy film.
The plot: The film tells the story of Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan, who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to release him from a centuries-old curse.
To compete with rival production The Golden Child’s casting of box office draw Eddie Murphy, Carpenter wanted a big star of his own and both Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were busy.
The studio felt Kurt Russell was an up-and-coming star. Russell was initially not interested because he felt there were "a number of different ways to approach Jack, but I didn't know if there was a way that would be interesting enough for this movie.
You wouldnt think that the director of "Halloween", "The Fog" and "The Thing" would director this but he did
Its a excellent film.
The plot: The film tells the story of Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan, who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to release him from a centuries-old curse.
To compete with rival production The Golden Child’s casting of box office draw Eddie Murphy, Carpenter wanted a big star of his own and both Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were busy.
The studio felt Kurt Russell was an up-and-coming star. Russell was initially not interested because he felt there were "a number of different ways to approach Jack, but I didn't know if there was a way that would be interesting enough for this movie.
You wouldnt think that the director of "Halloween", "The Fog" and "The Thing" would director this but he did
Its a excellent film.
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JT (287 KP) rated Halloween (1978) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Without a doubt Halloween was one of the finest horror films ever made, John Carpenter was spot on with his portrayal of a serial killer descending on a small American town.
Michael Myers was to become a horror icon and even though it spanned seven sequels, the original will always be the best in many people’s eyes. It is certainly my all time favourite horror film. Carpenter’s cinematic vision of Halloween was brilliant right from the opening credits. The long and short camera angles coupled with the “was he there or wasn’t he” shots of Myers were sublime.
The sinister musical score as well is paramount in making this film a household name in its genre. Jamie Lee Curtis was a scream queen for the 70s and although the acting talents were not up to scratch, it made no difference to the overall outcome of the film. Michael Myers was a disturbed child and after committing a horrific murder when he was just six years old he was committed to a mental institution where he escaped to stalk Laurie Strode, his long lost sister.
His the perfect boogeyman, and during the first part of the film he stalks Laurie sometimes just appearing out of shot as a blur between trees of a faceless driver passing by in his car. Laurie of course has no idea who he is but starts to feel like she is being watched, and her fears are finally realised one night descends and Carpenter ramps up the tension to breaking point.
What I love about this film is the pure simplicity of it, with a budget of just $320,000 it grossed $60m world world and was a massive hit with horror fans the world over. It didn’t want for fancy special effects, and the musical score was hardly a masterpiece but it did the job and it did it well. It is the model slasher flick and most of what has preceded it (maybe with the exception of the first Scream) have not been able to stand up in competition.
We’ve had Freddy and Jason, and we’re still having to sit and watch teenagers heading to remote and desolate locations to be butchered in a variety of unique ways while pints of blood are splashed across the screen. Halloween doesn’t require that, it will have you jumping out of your seat at least more than once and it just goes to prove that simple scares are the most effective.
Michael Myers was to become a horror icon and even though it spanned seven sequels, the original will always be the best in many people’s eyes. It is certainly my all time favourite horror film. Carpenter’s cinematic vision of Halloween was brilliant right from the opening credits. The long and short camera angles coupled with the “was he there or wasn’t he” shots of Myers were sublime.
The sinister musical score as well is paramount in making this film a household name in its genre. Jamie Lee Curtis was a scream queen for the 70s and although the acting talents were not up to scratch, it made no difference to the overall outcome of the film. Michael Myers was a disturbed child and after committing a horrific murder when he was just six years old he was committed to a mental institution where he escaped to stalk Laurie Strode, his long lost sister.
His the perfect boogeyman, and during the first part of the film he stalks Laurie sometimes just appearing out of shot as a blur between trees of a faceless driver passing by in his car. Laurie of course has no idea who he is but starts to feel like she is being watched, and her fears are finally realised one night descends and Carpenter ramps up the tension to breaking point.
What I love about this film is the pure simplicity of it, with a budget of just $320,000 it grossed $60m world world and was a massive hit with horror fans the world over. It didn’t want for fancy special effects, and the musical score was hardly a masterpiece but it did the job and it did it well. It is the model slasher flick and most of what has preceded it (maybe with the exception of the first Scream) have not been able to stand up in competition.
We’ve had Freddy and Jason, and we’re still having to sit and watch teenagers heading to remote and desolate locations to be butchered in a variety of unique ways while pints of blood are splashed across the screen. Halloween doesn’t require that, it will have you jumping out of your seat at least more than once and it just goes to prove that simple scares are the most effective.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dark Star (1974) in Movies
May 31, 2018
Massively influential spoof of overly-solemn and pretentious 60s sci-fi movies looks like what it is - a student movie blown up to feature proportions. John Carpenter was known to comment that the world's greatest student movie would still only be a pretty unimpressive 'real' film and there is an element of truth in this, for Dark Star is often slightly primitive, especially in its visual effects.
But never mind that, just enjoy the way it deconstructs the likes of 2001 and their philosophical concerns - 'never mind all that intelligent life crap, just give me something I can blow up,' snaps the commander early on. Classical music is eschewed for a jaunty country tune, and so on.
Most significant is way the pristine interiors of other films' spacecraft are replaced by the squalid, utilitarian quarters of the Dark Star's crew - this is space bereft of novelty and glamour, it's just a boring and dangerous place to work. You can see the 'used universe' aesthetic of the late 70s SF boom and beyond being invented here. Plus this is the movie that directly led to Alien. Not the biggest or best SF movie of the 70s, but still one of the most significant in the history of the genre.
But never mind that, just enjoy the way it deconstructs the likes of 2001 and their philosophical concerns - 'never mind all that intelligent life crap, just give me something I can blow up,' snaps the commander early on. Classical music is eschewed for a jaunty country tune, and so on.
Most significant is way the pristine interiors of other films' spacecraft are replaced by the squalid, utilitarian quarters of the Dark Star's crew - this is space bereft of novelty and glamour, it's just a boring and dangerous place to work. You can see the 'used universe' aesthetic of the late 70s SF boom and beyond being invented here. Plus this is the movie that directly led to Alien. Not the biggest or best SF movie of the 70s, but still one of the most significant in the history of the genre.
Andrew Kennedy (199 KP) rated Halloween (1978) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
The night HE came home
John Carpenter and Debra Hill created in just 30 days what some horror directors couldn't achieve in 30 months, a perfectly paced, well acted and truly tense slasher movie.
From the opening tracking shot to the final montage everything about this film is on point.
Donald Pleasance as Dr Sam Loomis delivers each of his warnings about Michael Myers with such gusto that you truly believe that Myers is the embodiment of evil.
Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliantly believable as the girl next door Laurie Strode, who Myers hunts down this Halloween night.
Nick Castle as Myers has such suttle movements and the now much copied head tilt.
The story of the young Michael Myers who viciously murders his sister Judith at age 6. Now 21 Myers escapes from Smith's Grove sanitarium and heads for his home town of Haddenfield.
Once there in one night Micheal will raise unholy hell and with Dr Loomis in pursuit trying to stop his escaped patient.
The music is iconic not just Carpenter's memorable theme but the music throughout helps to raise the tension. The camera work is amazing, one very famous scene in particular always delivers a chill.
This is truly a horror masterpiece.
From the opening tracking shot to the final montage everything about this film is on point.
Donald Pleasance as Dr Sam Loomis delivers each of his warnings about Michael Myers with such gusto that you truly believe that Myers is the embodiment of evil.
Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliantly believable as the girl next door Laurie Strode, who Myers hunts down this Halloween night.
Nick Castle as Myers has such suttle movements and the now much copied head tilt.
The story of the young Michael Myers who viciously murders his sister Judith at age 6. Now 21 Myers escapes from Smith's Grove sanitarium and heads for his home town of Haddenfield.
Once there in one night Micheal will raise unholy hell and with Dr Loomis in pursuit trying to stop his escaped patient.
The music is iconic not just Carpenter's memorable theme but the music throughout helps to raise the tension. The camera work is amazing, one very famous scene in particular always delivers a chill.
This is truly a horror masterpiece.
The Astronaut Wives Club
6.7
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As American astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the...