Hellraiser is really the story of how being kinky can get you into trouble. The film opens with Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) playing with a puzzle box surrounded by candles. We don't know what he's doing, only that it's probably not going to be pretty because the title of this film is Hellraiser, right? So he proceeds to open the box and begins his journey of experience the pains and pleasures of hell, brought to you by a band of tour guides called the Cenobites. Of course, all good things come to an end and the Cenobites think they have gained Frank's soul for their collection.
Enter Frank's brother Larry (Andrew "Scorpio" Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) who decide to move into the house that Frank completed his ritual and is virtually a disaster with each floor needing more work than the next. If Larry is really this cheap then it's no wonder his marriage is going down the toilet. I don't know if he was going to have Norm and the This Old House team come over and fix the joint up or what. So in the process of moving in, Larry cuts himself and drips blood on the floor of Frank's kinky room, fertilizing the little that is left of Frank's physical being that is hiding in the floor boards. Frank is back and so is the lust that Julia had for him (yep, they Tigered). The problem is that for Frank to be whole again he needs more blood and more bodies to make him a man again. That's when Julia agrees to help him by leading unsuspecting men to the kinky room and use them for spare parts while being discrete as not to arouse the suspicion of Larry or his daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence).
When people think of Hellraiser they think of Pinhead, all decked out in his Judas Priest gear,ready to give it to the hapless puzzle fan that played with his box. This first film is actually more about the human characters and how they interact in the situation they've fallen into. The Cenobites, poster children for this films, only appear in three sequences so be warned going into this if you're looking for some Pinhead action.
The thing about Hellraiser is not that's it's gory or even really that scary. It's just creepy as hell. The atmosphere reminds me of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which I feel the same way about. It's the atmospherics that get to you, not the actually action on the screen. Clive Barker creates this haunted house feeling, even though it's only haunted by the guy without skin in the spare bedroom.
Well acted, though there are some cringeworthy moments, Hellraiser is yet another first chapter in a horror series that has gone straight into the toilet during the last twenty years. Don't even bother with the others. This film isn't a masterpiece, but it is a very good horror film that leaves you with a ominous feeling throughout the picture. No, it won't tear your soul apart, but it will entertain you with it's extremely dark subject matter and good story.
When Bad Lieutenant begins we find New Orleans going through the cleansing that was Katrina and a young con with water up to his neck begging for help in his cell. In walks two cops (Nicholas Cage and Val Kilmer) who banter a bit and, we assume, are going to leave the poor con to die. But at the last minute Terrence (Cage) decides to hope in the murky water and save the prisoner. In the process of saving Terrence wrecks his back permanently, which leads to the main plot of the film- his dependence on drugs and how his hunt for the next fix coincides with his job as a detective.
Scratching the surface you may feel that the main plot is Terrence's investigation of a slain family of immigrants who were selling dope on someones turf. A basic crime story where the flawed cop is going to catch the bastards that did the deed. But that's not what Bad Lieutenant is about. Basically, it's about Terrence's addiction. The entire film is about him trying to score his next hit, with the murder case either taking a back seat to the action or being used as leverage in getting more drugs. In a nutshell, the movie is about scoring drugs and how over the edge or cop hero has jumped.
Cage is a borderline psychopath in this role, giving a performance that isn't the best of his career, but it's not the worst either. At times it feels like he's trying to hard, almost as if he's trying to resurrect his Leaving Las Vegas karma of self destruction. "Hey! Remember me! You gave me an Oscar once!". Eva Mendes continues being the bad guy's gal, building on the role she played in We Own the Night, that forgettable crime drama. What I found amusing was that the person that stuck out for me was an actor that wasn't in the film to long, Val Kilmer. He actually wasn't too bad in the role and will be my next pick for a Travolta like come back. Sure, he's difficult to work with, but director Werner Herzog dealt with Klaus Kinski so Kilmer had to be a cakewalk.
Overall the film is a little above ok. I haven't seen the original so a comparison isn't available but knowing that Harvey Keitel starred in that film it's going to be a toss up. The film does drag a bit, but Herzog helps us maintain a little interest as the story progresses. It's one of those one time films that you'll watch once and never have the inclination to watch again, not because it's bad, but because it's kind of forgettable. I will predict that a drinking game could develop where you take a shot whenever Cage's character ingests an illegal substance. Mark my words.
Here's the plot: Frank Langella shows up at Cameron Diaz's door and hands her a box, saying that if they press the button on said box then they'll get a million bucks, BUT someone they don't know will die. Yeah, you saw that in the trailer. The movie doesn't explain that much beyond that point. Now you're probably wonder why I'm not easing into this review and, to be honest with you, it's because I wasted enough time on this movie. It's a slow paced film that has no real resolution other than making you wonder why in the hell you watched it in the first place. I like movies that make me think, not movies that make me regret.
A Hollywood rebuttal to the Communist witch hunts of the era, High Noon is a real time tale about recently wed, retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) who feels that he has to stay when he learns that a man he put away to hang has been released and is returning to town. The problem is that, unlike other westerns of the era, the townspeople and even his deputies refuse to help him fight off the threat. He's going to have to do it alone.
High Noon was really a revolutionary film for its time, particularly in the way that it depicted the town as being either A) scared or B) indifferent. The judges runs away. The deputy (a great performance by Lloyd Bridges) bargains his help for support in being the new Marshall. The mayor is worried about how a gun fight will affect the towns economy. All in all, this is probably the most realistic western of its era.
The greatest of High Noon lies with Gary Cooper. Will Kane is not John Wayne moseying into a gunfight, ready to raise hell at a moments notice. As the clock ticks away, Cooper puts more and more worry on his face making Kane a more sympathetic character. This is a film that isn't afraid to show the humanity of its hero. You're basically watching a man take the long walk to the executioner, with no one watching his back. Along with Cooper, we also get a great performance from Grace Kelly as Kane's new bride. She's a woman that can't understand why Will Kane feels the need to fight this battle when he doesn't have to.
And that's basically the theme of the film. A man that fights when he doesn't have to do it. When you really look at it, High Noon represents the seeds of the western that Sergio Leone would craft with Clint Eastwood being a hero even when he was a rogue and didn't have to do it. In a way, Clint Eastwood is the heir to Gary Cooper. A chiseled individual that represents what is right, not what the law happens to be.
High Noon is one of those great American westerns that;s head and shoulders over the typical fare of the era, letting a little social commentary slip thru along the way. A true classic film.
I've never been a fan of remakes. I've always felt that if you wanted to see a movie, the original is very easy to come by and remaking an old movie is just lazy film making or total blasphemy (I'm looking at you Psycho '98). Cape Fear is one of those rare remakes that is able to get beyond the stigma of being a remake, mainly because of the people that made it. Martin Scorsese directing Robert DeNiro is a good start. Throw in Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and the legendary Joe Don Baker and you get a film that equals its source material.
Cape Fear is about a southern lawyer (Nick Nolte) who is being harassed by recently released Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) who has been using his quiet time wisely by studying the law and his own case in particular. It seems that the good southern lawyer didn't use a piece of evidence that could have allowed Cady to go free because he knew he was guilty. Shame, shame. The film is basically a cat and mouse game as Max stays within the law to a point while Nolte's character is pushed over the line to rid himself and his family of this menace.
The first thing I have to mention is the irony that Nick Nolte stars as a clean cut guy in a film with a character sporting long hair and looking creepy in general (mugshot). Cape Fear is a nice thriller that complements the Scorsese/DeNiro repertoire that I miss so damn much. Sure, there are things that are plot stretching bu the overall film is a creepy flick that tips it hat to the later noir films of the late 1950's and early '60's, particularly the Saul Bass opening and updating Bernard Herrmann's original score.
Cape Fear isn't the greatest film known to man, but it is a very suspenseful thriller that delivers that edge of your seat feeling that doesn't deal with running to the restroom for a tinkle. It holds your attention throughout and doesn't bore. It's Scorsese's answer to the onslaught of stalker films that came out in the wake of Fatal Attraction and succeeds in being a better picture than the norm.
Old Dogs is another Disney clap trap family film about an older guy (Robin Williams) who is sensible, skittish, phobic, and carefully plans his life. Which, in Hollywood cliche land, means that his best friend (John Travolta) is the exact opposite. So after a night of debauchery a decade before Dan (Williams) learns that he is the proud father of twins AND the mother is going to jail for two weeks for some environmental terrorism. So Dan and Charlie (Travolta) end up taking care of the kids. Hilarity engulfs the screen in a series of old and fart jokes. Run credits.
This is basically a same shit different day situation with Travolta resuming his Dinseyfied role that he had in Wild Hogs (let's not get started on that one) The story is thin, Williams tries to improv, but fails. Travolta just sucks, but he's getting a check so who cares. This is your basic crappy family film that they throw two names in so that you'll go to the theater and rent the DVD. Cash out, people.
But could Old Dogs do some good? I totally believe that Robert Downey, Jr. needs to watch this film with great interest and think about where he wants his career to be in fifteen years. Travolta got his second chance and now look at him. You need to be careful, Robert. You could be starring in a movie like this. Beware. Beware.
Disney once again returns to the well and enlists the creativity of Tim Burton to give us the uber CGI "sequel" to the original Alice in Wonderland story. Alice (Mia Masikowska) is about to get hitched in a pseudo arranged marriage. Of course, Alice ends up following the white rabbit, falling down the hole, and going on an acid trip that would have made Syd Barrett blush.
Now Alice in Wonderland is a beautifully crafted film that challenges Avatar in the creativity department. It's amazing to watch, especially since it's also a member of the 3-D fad fan club. It's magnificent visually. However, the story is lacking a bit. Quite a bit actually. Sure Alice is the main character and is basically in very scene of the film, the child-like innocence of the original story and Disney film are gone, being replaced by a "Hey, it's Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter!". Alice, just as Avatar, becomes more a sunset film. What's a sunset film? It's a movie that you'll sit there watching, marveling in its splendor, mesmerized by how it massages the eye and the brain until the very end. Then you'll walk away until you watch your next sunset. And the same thing happens over again. They all start to blend together after awhile. Of course sunsets can be more appealing then today's cinema fare.
So if you're into some eye candy for about two hours and 3-D doesn't give you a head ache then enjoy Alice in Wonderland. If you're looking for a great story you may want to go to the video store. Or Netflix. Or download. And enjoy something with a little more behind its glimmering facade.
