Movie Review

(In theaters, October 1997) Very cold, but at the same time very interesting SF movie for the high-IQ segment of the movie-going audience. No aliens, no laser pistols, no gee-whiz machinery, no impressive special effects. In other words, the words are important. That’s why it failed at the box-office and that’s why it’s the best SF movie of 1997 along with Contact. Like the latter, it’s an ultimately uplifting tale of human determination and of unusual style. Never mind that the setup is ridiculous, that the story is of early-sixties written-SF vintage and that the instant-blood-test is already obsolete: “There is no gene for the human spirit” says the tagline, and that’s exactly the gist of the movie. This being said, I can understand why less sophisticated viewers would consider this dreadfully boring. That’s good news: for once, a movie doesn’t have to pamper to the illiterate, MTV-afflicted hordes in order to fashion a satisfying movie. I hope director Nichols makes more movies like this.

(Second viewing, on DVD, June 2009): I remembered how great this film was, but I didn’t remember how much of its greatness it owes to its mesmerizing design sense. Because, let’s face it, from a story telling standpoint this is a hollow shell: It stops dead with exposition during its first thirty minutes, takes place in a South California simulacrum with no relation to reality, features amazingly stupid detective “work”, and hobbles from one repetitive situation to another, always playing on the same suspense of discovery. Almost all of its emotional power works by allusions and not demonstration: All the characters seem frozen, and it’s easy to claim that the film’s deeper emotional interest only appeal to space nerds. And let’s not speak of the science. Still: I watched the film in a trance-like state, amazed at the visual design, the mixture of styles, the fairyland stiffness of the world. It’s a fable much more than a science-fiction film, and it truly delivers on its premises when seen as such. For a film that doesn’t survive any degree of scrutiny, it’s still unbelievably convincing. In fact, it uses its own limits as a shield of sorts, and effortlessly evokes the mythical whereas a more realistic approach would have moored it in the past: You can still see it twelve years later and it hasn’t aged a bit. What an achievement. The “Superbit” DVD looks nice, but what this film needs is a special edition with supplements that do justice to the film.

(On TV, October 1997) Lifeless, not really enjoyable “blob from space eats people” flick. Follows standard horror conventions, is too stupid to be believed in, but too competent to be laughable. Better seen really, really late. Effects are beginning to show their seams.

(Second viewing, On TV, April 2020) Watching the remake of The Blob after the original is… interesting. It’s certainly more polished, gory and conspiratorial than the previous one. Not necessarily better, though — Kevin Dillan is no Steve MacQueen, and you almost need an actor of that caliber to ensure that this repetitive monster movie stands out. The theater scene is still a standout, though, and horror fans will be satisfied by how no one dies cleanly in this film. (As for the rest of us: Eeew.) Given the presence of ever-more realistic gore and sadism in killing off the cast, what’s definitely missing from The Blob to ensure any B-movie charm is more humor to counter the grimness of the premise and its execution. I mean — it’s all right if you’re looking from some 1980s horror, but it could have been much more.

(In theaters, September 1997) Audience reaction to this movie will probably hinge on their level of tolerance for… um… gay issues. A very smart, very funny script is backed-up by fantastic acting and unobtrusive direction. Loses steam and gains “meaningful intent” in the second half, but a good time is had by mostly everyone except the most closed-minded. (Be forewarned, however, that the writer Has An Agenda) Not really a good date movie! Random thought: It’s probably a good sign of our evolving society that this movie is rated PG only a few years after the separate matrimonial beds of the puritan TV shows of the fifties…

(On TV, September 1997) Any self-respecting Babylon-5 fan had to watch this movie, only for the nearly-naked scenes of “Captain Ivanova” (Claudia Christian). Alas, Shelley Michelle body-doubles for Christian, but Hexed is still a pretty enjoyable comedy, at times oddly reminiscent of the hilarious, senseless violence of Pulp Fiction. Characters are okay, the comedy oscillates between the slapstick (the Rodney King send-up) and the lame-but-lively repartee (“I forgot to tell you; I’m pregnant” “What?” “Just kidding.”) but while this is far from being a work of art, it’s not a big waste of time either.

(On TV, September 1997) Very stupid, utterly hilarious “horror” movie. The premise (serial killer gets transformed in computer form, kills people using microwaves, heat dryers and dishwashers.) is about as ridiculous as it can get, and the details are about as ludicrous as anything else. Anyone can have several sadistic laughs at the ineptness of this grade-A Z-level shlocko flick: One of the funniest worst movies I’ve seen. Not to be confused with SF-anime masterpiece Ghost In The Shell (1995).

(In theaters, August 1997) Dark, creepy but also surprisingly forgettable suspense movie about giant insects taking over the lower levels of the New York subway. (And, presumably, the world afterward since those pesky insects are pretty much unstoppable, y’know?) Mira Sorvino is quite pleasing to look at as a top-notch entomologist, and director Del Torro sure knows how to effectively create a suspenseful atmosphere. Low points include a letdown finale (earlier scripts reportedly had a more appropriate, if darker, conclusion) and a really annoying subplot about an autistic child. (High points, however, include the killing of sympathetic children and a dead dog in the same scene, so there’s still hope for Hollywood scriptwriters…) A decent video rental for those in the mood for a “bug” movie.

(On VHS, August 1997) A bland title for an even more unmemorable movie. The plot has been seen a thousand times (Hero cop. Dead partner. Smart bad guy. Car chase. Girlfriend in peril. Explosion. The End. Oh, there’s a New Partner in there somewhere) and Metro confuses smart touches with incoherence (or maybe the other way around). The Girlfriend is cute and there’s one rousing good sequence in the movie (the car chase, surprise!) but the remainder will flee out of your memory as the credits scroll. At least, I didn’t pay to see it.

(Second viewing, On VHS, August 1997) Seen last year during its first week of release, and again this month with great pleasure. By no means a great movie, but one that’s just cool to miss. See it again for the subtle stuff; most of the comedy in this movie is of the type “I can’t believe I’m seeing this.” In retrospect, one of my favorite of 1996.

(Third viewing, On DVD, January 2009) Twelve years later, this spoof of Alien invasions works just as well, and maybe even a little bit better than when it was released. There have been a certain number of alien invasion films since then (and even a few alien invasion spoofs), but Mars Attacks! still holds up thanks to self-conscious camp material, a visual style of its own, and performances from a variety of actors you may not expect, from Jack Nicholson to Jack Black. There’s a cheerfully counter-authoritarian streak running through the film, as the victims are usually people with inflated opinions of themselves and the plucky working-class heroes manage to triumph over everything. It’s still decently amusing, and some of the gags are best appreciated with prior knowledge of the film rather than seen cold.

(In theaters, August 1997) Worst movie of the summer, but it’s so much fun (in a sick kind of way) that you’re unlikely to notice, or to be angry at the picture. Slightly different narrative scheme (Kull becomes king in the first few minutes) is unlikely to mask the awful dialogue straight out of comic books. Acting is uniformly bad; Tia Carrere should do much better. (But she’s redheaded here, so all things balance out!) An enjoyable Friday-night TV movie for a crowd of rowdy MST3Kers (“Brings new sense to the term frigid!”, etc…) but scarcely anything else.

(In theaters, August 1997) The first 10-20 minutes of this scary, stylish thriller include some of the best visuals ever seen in the SF genre. After oscillating between Alien, Solaris, The Shining and Hellraiser, the movie then goes firmly into the last’s territory, with all the nonsensical bloodbaths (literally) that presupposes. Definitely scary and unsettling, yes, but also very unsatisfying in it uneasy mix of Hard SF and shlocko horror: Who’s the bad guy? Satan himself! Effective direction by Mortal Kombat alumni Paul Anderson and superb techno-medieval set design make this a much more watchable movie than otherwise deserved. Good acting and impressive Special Effects are also notable. Writer Phil Eisner should take a crash course in Hard-SF, among other things. I predict a certain cult following.

(Second viewing, On DVD, July 2006) Curiously enough, I hadn’t revisited this film since its original theatre release: Event Horizon remains one of the few horror film to make me lose some sleep in contemplation. Fortunately, time caught up with me by offering a much-enhanced “Special Edition” version of the film, complete with almost a decade’s worth of hindsight. As DVD aficionados will tell you, the real story about a film takes a few years to emerge, and the “second generation” DVDs can usually afford to annoy people who have since moved on. And so director Paul Anderson takes some pleasure in talking about Event Horizon‘s rushed production, insane post-production deadlines and difficult testing process. He’s the first to acknowledge that the finished film isn’t as good as it could have been. Certainly, a second look at it can’t match the experience of seeing it on a really really big screen: at home, it simply comes across as a serviceable horror/SF hybrid, more thrilling than horrific and yet less flawed than I perceived it at the time. Blame it on more realistic impressions, maybe: these days, I’m more likely to be thankful for what does work than indignant at what doesn’t. While Event Horizon remains an imperfect film, it’s still a good treat for SF/horror fans, and it still plays well despite the pre-digital effects. Interestingly enough, I re-discovered that much of the soundtrack came from artists (Orbital and the Prodigy) that I would later embrace with enthusiasm.

(On VHS, August 1997) Good actors, suspicious plotting, bad ending and way too long. Difficult to be excited over the tale of a recluse thief who witness a scuffle ending in death involving the President, his mistress and two Secret Service agents. One or two good scenes, the remainder is an exercise in doing-something-else-while- the-movie-plays-out.

(In theaters, July 1997) This adaptation of the comic-book series is more or less faithful to the original, and is surprisingly entertaining provided you enter the theatre with the right frame of mind. A dark and stylish (if sucky) story combined with some great (and not-so-great) cartoonish CGI makes this a nice, un-ambitious matinee. Standout performance from John Leguizamo as “The Clown.” Spawn sometimes feels like an expensive pilot for a TV series… hopes are that the presumed sequel will be superior.

(On TV, July 1997) Just a hint: If you ever have to watch this movie, don’t do it half-heartedly, with an eye on the TV and another on the computer screen. If you do, you run the risk of thinking during most of the movie that the husband in this tale of (righteous) adultery is a decent, if uncommunicative, fellow, who’s absolutely right to be angry when his wife goes to sleep (among other things…) with another man. (The end of the movie permits no ambiguity, of course.) Furthermore, you risk being more than unimpressed by the “erotic sensuality” of the hole-in-stocking scene (didn’t do much for me, really) and generally bored by everything. One scene (you’ll know it) shook me, but the remainder… is to be watched with undivided attention, I guess.

(On TV, July 1997) This made-for-TV movie tells the tale of the events following Johnny Carson’s retirement as the anchor of “The Tonight Show.” In NBC’s wings: Jay Leno and David Letterman, both determined to get Carson’s job. We already know how it turned out, but this movie makes a fascinating 90 minutes of TV business drama. Both Leno and Letterman are likable, and the result is an even-handed show. Fans of either (or both) talk-show hosts will like this one.