Saturday, February 29, 2020
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
The Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.
A sequel that is better than the original ups the ante on action and mayhem, but with a tighter script and more inspired humor.
Halliwell**: "A sequel more entertaining than the original, stuffed with in-jokes for movie buffs."
Maltin***: "Not so much a horror film as a goofy sendup of itself, this sequel turns the slimy creatures loose in N.Y.C. Filled with gags, movie in-jokes, satiric barbs, and gratuitous cameo appearances. Glover is especially funny as a Domald Trump/Ted Turner type, and Lee is a delight as a genetic scientist. Be sure to stay with this through the closing credits."
Friday, February 28, 2020
First Lines: Paul Beatty - The Sellout
This may be hard to believe, coming from a black man, but I've never stolen anything.
Gremlins (1984)
A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Quite original, over-the-top horror spoof is lively and entertaining, over-abundant with in-joke details, but its black humor is childish most of the time.
Halliwell*: "Juvenile horror comic, a kind of deliberate inversion of E.T. Slow to start, and a little too knowingly nasty, with variable special effects; but a pretty hot commercial success."
Maltin**: "Comic nightmare is a cross between Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and THE BLOB; full of film-buff in-jokes, but negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem."
The Aeronauts (2019)
Pilot Amelia Rennes and scientist James Glaisher find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon.
Nicely made adventure tale with good effects and engaged cast is a bit old-fashioned, but suspenseful and entertaining.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
A cop turns con man once he comes out of the closet. Once imprisoned, he meets the second love of his life, whom he'll stop at nothing to be with.
Offkilter romantic tragicomedy has a few hilarious moments and a typically outrageously over-the-top Jim Carrey performance, but as whole it's more unnerving than entertaining.
Maltin***: "Continuously surprising blend of comedy and drama features what is arguably Carrey's all-time best performance."
The Light Between Oceans (2016)
A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat.
Unabashedly old-fashioned tearjerker with good performances and beautiful scenic cinematography; watchable, but keep a handkerchief at hand.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
First Lines: Maggie Nelson - The Argonauts
October 2007. The Santa winds are shredding the bark off the eucalyptus trees in long white stripes.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Repo Men (2010)
Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.
Sci-fi romp with a strong satirical streak is too focused on its action and mayhem to be taken seriously and simply wastes its star cast.
Maltin**: "Intriguing premise with strong social implications is given uninspired execution and fails to make its point. Law and Whitaker have good chemistry but cast is wasted on a script that must have looked better on paper."
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