Chain Reaction, The (1980) - 2.5/5

I have a love for the obscure so I hungrily hunt down DVDs and VHS tapes of forgotten pictures and more often then not the films come out bad or to put more kindly, well below average. Every now and again a film surprises me like this forgotten Australian, or "Ozploitation" film. I went into the movie thinking it was going to be some typical disaster cover-up flick and for the most part it still is but it's a dial above the rest of similar natured films. What really surprised me is that that "Mad Max" trilogy director George Miller popped up in the opening credits as producer. This is the guy that created my all time favorite trilogy (well "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior", I can give or take "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome") so I knew he wouldn't attach his name to a film that would be complete shit. To top it off some of the actors and crew members from "Mad Max" worked on this film. For that alone it made this picture an interesting watch.

The film opens with a nuclear plant technician getting dosed with a lethal dose of radioactive water when a spill occurs at the plant. When he learns that the company is going to cover-up the accident even though innocent people in a neighboring town will be affected, he decides to escape and shows up on the door step of a mechanic and his wife. Soon guys in white hazmat suits appear, willing to kill anyone to keep them silent.

Some of actors that appeared in "Mad Max" are here most notably Steve Bisley who played Mel Gibson's partner Goose. Like Goose, he plays basically the same character that is tough with a good sense of humor. Hell even Mel Gibson makes a quick appearance as a mechanic. Don't blink or you'll miss him! The acting is solid helping out the cliché script.

New comer Ian Barry is listed as the director but I wouldn't be surprised if George Miller took the reins from him a few times as this movie feels like "Mad Max" with its gritty style and emphasis on some great car chases. These chases are rousing with the director giving us true high speed pursuits and some nice shots of cameras by the tires.

I did crave more from the contamination plot as it really only affects our mechanic lead and his wife. I would have loved to see the contamination affect an entire town as opposed to a young couple but that might have been too big of scope for the small budget. The film also tends to focus on action sacrificing every other aspect so the audience doesn't get emotionally connected to our couple and the hell that has come down upon them. The ending is also a little hastily tied up but the ride was entertaining getting there.

"The Chain Reaction" is a little bit of George Romero's "The Crazies" and George Miller's "Mad Max" mixed together with a nuclear accident plot. Some fans even consider this a pseudo "prequel" to "Mad Max" which is an interesting point of view. Nothing groundbreaking but definitely worth a watch if you can hunt this rare film down. Considering it being a George Miller production I'm surprised this isn't more readily available, especially in a good quality DVD release. God forbid do not get this film confused with the 1996 Keanu Reeves yawnfest also entitled "Chain Reaction."

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - 4.5/5

After watching Edgar Wright's latest odd ball film, "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World", I had to re-evaluate just why any one would ever okay this film to actually be released on a wide scale. This has nothing to do with its quality. Oh no. In fact, "Scott Pilgrim" is damn impressively executed and its stellar blend of visual prowess and heart is something to be commended. It's box office failure is something that can easily be seen when watching the film. "Scott Pilgrim" is one of the most unique blends of American ambition, British timing and wit, and Japanese pop culture references. Yeah, you read that right. Not something the majority of American cinema goers is going to latch onto.

Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is in an odd place with his life. He's 22 with no goal, his band Sex Bob-Omb is desperately trying to make it to the next level, and his girl friend Knives is the joke of the party since she is still in high school and only 17. When he suddenly meets the girl of his dreams Ramona (Winstead), he suddenly finds himself on a path of self discovery. This path also happens to be littered with her 7 Evil Exes which he must face and defeat if he is to stay with Ramona.

Wright is more or less known for his dry and sometimes dumb humor (with particular reference to his spoof films that garnered him his following) so "Scott Pilgrim" is somewhat of a change of pace for him. Focusing more on the visual side of things, this film has a very new and modern feel to it. Luckily, Wright ably handles the blend of his odd timing and quick dry wit with this sleek Japanese visual style (most of which is video game and anime inspired) and it makes the film a complete blast to watch. Words come spraying out of mouths, sound effects ripple across the screen Manga style, and the quick and over the top editing gives the film a practically frantic pacing that all works in its favor. Had it not been for this side of "Scott Pilgrim", than this film would have easily just been your average indie-romantic comedy. Which is completely out of the realm of Blood Brothers.

This leads to the second part of why "Scott Pilgrim" succeeds as well as it does. The heart of the film. Despite my rather distaste for Michael Cera outside of "Arrested Development", his portrayal of the awkward young Pilgrim is spot on and the story really builds on his character arc giving it the depth it needs. Occasionally it does trend onto cliche territory here with his love story, but with its smart writing and quick wit it quickly overturns it and pushes forward.

There really isn't all that much that "Scott Pilgrim" does wrong than perhaps try to be a main stream American film, which it showed it couldn't do. It will find its cult following (it already as shown signs of it with its dedicated fan base and media crossing appeal) and that impresses me already. It's slick. It's fun. And most of all, it pulls off a very daring blend that if you're not in loop, you may not get. Ballsy move and it paid off.

BONUS PRAISE: Yeah, Tom Jane as the Vegan Police. Enough said. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Deadly Impact (1984) - 1/5

The Italian poliziotteschi subgenre of action films pretty much died out by 1980 but a few did surface throughout the decade but went mostly unseen. Why are most of these films from the 80's unseen? Well it could be for the fact that most of them were pure shit and "Deadly Impact" is just that, 100% shit. The 1983 release of the Dirty Harry film "Sudden Impact" allowed this Italian cheapo rip-off to get made, I mean look at the poster artwork. Not only is the title lifted from "Sudden Impact" but the font for the title and the shattered effect of a bullet traveling through the artwork is amazingly similar to the afore mentioned "Dirty Harry" movie. I usually love cheap 80's Italian rip-offs so what gives here? Fuck it even stars genre greats Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson so how could the filmmakers fuck up so royally? Well strap on your 44 magnum and let's take a shot to find out why.

"Deadly Impact" takes place in Las Vegas and begins with a hot shot computer whiz that is able to hack into casino computer systems to know what slot machines are close to paying out. Him and his girlfriend end up getting caught and killed by a couple of thugs. Hot shot cop Bo Svenson and his Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy Fred Williamson are in desperate need for cash so they team up to track the goons down to and perhaps find some money.

Bo Svenson tries to give his best Dirty Harry impersonation but he is just fucking terrible not aided by the connect-the-dot script. Not even Fred Williamson is able to say this shit dialogue with any amount of conviction. The characters are so poorly developed that a blade of grass would have more personality than these two "heroes" do.

The worst part is the sloppy directing by Fabrizio De Angelis. Angelis was actually a lucrative Italian producer involved with many Lucio Fulci and Enzo G. Castellari pictures. Not content on being the money man behind the scenes he decided to dive into directing as well giving us a number of poorly shot action films throughout the 80's (including the "Thunder Warrior" trilogy). The film just has a boring, flat look to it as if it was made-for-TV. Hell he even ends the film with a "Blue CHIPS" style freeze frame. Italian movies aren't supposed to look like they were made for television! Fabrizio should have hired, you know, a TRAINED person for the directing job. Even Castellari was able to give his trashy 80's films some great camera work! Not even a few good chase sequences help ease the pain of the director's boring style.

The score is another bitch I have about this film. Italian films are usually known for amazing if somewhat bizarre scores. This is the country that gave us Goblin, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi and Riz Ortolani for Christ sake! The music here seems like stock TV movie themes....uggg. The "suspenseful" helicopter chase at the end has some "happy go lucky" shit playing in the background completely ruining any suspense the sequence was building. Can you imagine the chase scene from "The French Connection" with the Golden Girls theme "Thank You for Being a Friend" playing in the background? FUCK NO!

A film reuniting "Inglorious Bastards" stars Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson should have been much better than this. Don't get me wrong as I wasn't expecting a "good" movie going into "Deadly Impact" but with B-movie legends like these guys I was at least expecting a trashy good time along the same lines as Castillari's "Light Blast" or his "Bronx Warriors" duology. Where the hell is Enzo G. Castellari when you need him?! I can honestly say this is the worst poliziotteschi film I have seen even beating out the lackluster "Double Game." Time to put on "Violent Naples" or "The Big Racket" to erase this Italian turd from my memory.

NOTE: The DVD I have of "Deadly Impact" came in a quadruple feature with three other obscure action films and the transfer is taken from a VHS source. I have no problem with VHS transfers as that is the only to see a lot of these obscure films but the VHS they sourced the film from was rather beat up with annoying lines popping up throughout most of the film, especially towards the end. I can't bitch too much about that because I doubt I will ever watch this B-movie failure again.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith - 3/5

After another round of disappointment with "Attack Of The Clones", I was starting to worry that this prequel trilogy might suck with "Star Wars" (alright, I was heavily worried it was sucking after the first 5 minutes of "The Phantom Menace"). Luckily, when it comes to "Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith", Lucas focuses on what he does best and runs with it. That being, EPIC FUCKING VISUALS AND AWESOME ACTION SEQUENCES. Although this last part of the prequel trilogy might be chastised for being script thin and dialogue weak, I would argue that all of them are that way. This one just happens to realize it and gear itself away from its flaws. They are still flaws, mind you, this one just covers them up slightly better.

Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) is happily married with his new boo Padme (Portman). Not only that, but after a gnarly opening battle, the war between the Republic and the Separatists is still raging and getting even worse, and his killing of Count Dooku (Christopher "I'm the fucking man" Lee) Anakin finds out that she is pregnant. Since Jedi aren't supposed to be married, let alone fall in love you, she goes into a sort of hiding. Now the Jedi must focus on finding the last big leader of the Separatists, General Grievous. Anakin who has become very close to Chancellor Palpatine is assigned to spy on him since the Jedi think he is up to no good now and Obi-Won (McGregor) goes to kill him some Grievous. Unfortunately, things turn from bad to worse when the Sith Lord reveals himself and begins to turn Anakin to the Dark Side and the Jedi are declared rebels.

Once again, "Revenge Of The Sith" suffers from the SAME FLAWS as the first two. The dialogue sucks, the acting (although slightly better this time around) mostly sucks, and some of the scenes are just awkward with particulars in the direction of the love chemistry between Anakin and Padme. Luckily, since this is the final installment of this trilogy, most of the plot is being focused on the epic-ness of how it all turns out. And it makes this one the best of the three and actually quite fun to watch.

With action sequences galore and great visual work from Lucas, "Revenge Of The Sith" really piles it on here. The pacing is exponentially better this time around and the characters are finally getting interesting. I kept wanting a little more from Obi-Won as a character particularly when it starts to become obvious that he has to oust his own student and kill him. I know, I know, Jedi are supposed to be stoic, but it would have been nice to see a bit more struggle even if it was subtle. It's still epic though.

All of these up front plot shifts and epic scenes do lead to one of the coolest climaxes I've seen, that being the dueling Jedi/Sith battles. The light saber and force throws that the previous films sort of only touched on, are in full effect in this climax and with some cool settings like the lava river and the Senate conference room, it just seethes with Lucas' visual ferocity. This final act single handedly gives the film that extra star over being the 2 star film it might have been normally.

"Revenge Of The Sith" is handedly the best of the prequel trilogy as it focuses on its strengths and minimizes it's numerous flaws. Yeah, at times it can still be eye roll worthy (Christensen is more brooding than a 15 year boy with his dark eyes and shaggy hair) but its solid use of pacing and epic action pieces makes up for most of it.

DARTH VADER'S BAD ASS MOMENT OF THE FILM: There are numerous bad ass moments for Anakin in this film (he's going to the Dark Side for goodness' sake) but the topper is how he ends up in his suit. Not only does he lose both his legs in an arrogant attempt to out maneuver Obi-Won, but he then slowly falls INTO FUCKING LAVA. Which ignites his legless ass on fire. Not only that, but he is able TO PULL HIMSELF OUT STILL AND SURVIVE. Luckily, he is taken to the most bad ass hospital where he gets his Darth Vader gear on. He's up and running within minutes. That. Is. Bad. Ass.

BONUS RANT: There was a build in the last film to how awesome Count Dooku is and he ably handles 3 Jedi in the climax. He then makes a brief appearance in the opening of this film where he pretty much is beaten single handedly (you could say he loses his head over the fight) by Anakin. I get that we are supposed to be awed by how powerful Anakin has become but that fight was a major let down. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Slipstream (1989) - 1.5/5

To celebrate the release of "Tron: Legacy" I have decided not to review the original "Tron". I have decided to instead review another science fiction film from the director of "Tron" entitled "Slipstream." Never heard of it? Well it's for good reason as despite the cast consisting of Mark "Star Wars" Hamill and Bill "Aliens" Paxton it was released under the radar and quickly faded into the abyss of video boxes cluttering up video store shelves being forgotten and only popping up now and again in crummy public domain DVD sets.

Well this science fiction mess is like a low rent "Blade Runner". Mark Hamill, sporting a beard, is a bounty hunter in a post apocalyptic world. It seems that Earth was ravaged by natural disasters that re-carved the world with giant canyons in which a fast deadly wind called the "slipstream" blow through. That's what I gathered from the hastily written opening narration anyway. Hamill is on the hunt for an android ("Jurassic Park"s Bob Peck) who is wanted for murder. Hamill and his female partner decide to stop for a bite to eat, with their prisoner no less, at a crummy restaurant. In pops in Bill Paxton playing his typical annoying jackass character who steals the prisoner in order to get the bounty on his head. Now Paxton gets into a little two person plane and cruises the slipstream on the run from Hamill. They fly, fly, and fly some more only momentarily stopping in area's that leads them into predicable trouble.

"Slipstream" is a disjointed mess that's plot has no flow what-so-ever. The plot is complicated yet vague on the facts at the same time. This mixed with tedium (and lots of time showing our characters flying their planes) makes "Slipstream" not a very enjoyable "science fiction spectacular" as the tagline screamed out on the original VHS box cover. Hamill is interesting as the antagonist for once but the dialogue is rather silly and it's hard not to bust a nut laughing at some of the lines these guys have to spout out (example: "Every time a piece of human trash is put under a rock pile the world is a better place"). Also how the hell did they manage to get academy award winning actors F. Murray Abraham and Ben Kingsley to appear in thankless small roles?

It's a shame as the film does have some good camera work, a great score, some adequate special effects, and a good performance from Bob Peck as the android who wants to be human but the messy plot, dull action and bad dialogue makes this a chore to sit through. Apparently producer Gary Kurtz went through some financial struggles during production as his money was cut short when his wife filed for divorce. Due to this "Slipstream" was released theatrically in Europe with no ad campaigns and popped up as a direct-to-video feature here in the States. Direct-to-video hell is what "Slipstream" deserved to get and thanks to the producers financial struggles the film has fallen into the public domain and it rears its ugly head now and again in bargain movie packs. There is a small, a very very small, group of people who like the film and are crying out for widescreen treatment of the film on DVD. Good luck getting that to happen! I only recommend this for "Star Wars" fanatics that want to see how Mark Hamill's career sank into oblivion.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Matrix Reloaded, The - 3.5/5

How do you top what "The Matrix" was at the time it came out? Go all out. How about make it an epic trilogy set to end the war between man and machine? How about push the philosophical elements further up front and use more complicated ideologies? How about make the actions scenes bigger and more intense? Sound like a good idea? Fuck yea it does. That's exactly what "The Matrix Reloaded" intends as the first part of a two part film. Be smarter, faster, and more action packed. For the most part it does succeed. It's more brain racking. More epic. More intense. Unfortunately, it can never blend it like the original one did and it comes off as trying a tad too hard too often.

Neo (Reeves) is now an unstoppable force in the Matrix. His powers are only increasing since his final encounter with Agent Smith (Weaving) that ended in his destruction. Too bad that's in the Matrix. Turns out the machines in the real world have located Zion and are digging to pummel the human resistance to pulp. Now Morpheus (Fishburne), Neo, and Trinity (Moss) have to aggressively pursue the prophecy of Neo as the one to end this potential slaughter. This will take them into all new parts of the Matrix to face rogue programs, the source of the Matrix, and even a new Smith, now in the form of a vicious virus hellbent on power. The Matrix and the real world may never be the same.

Let's analyze the intent of the film to understand why it still kicks some mighty ass, but not as much ass as the first "Matrix". Let's break it down.

MORE ACTION: "Reloaded" definitely has this down to a 'T'. Although it can't re-revolution action like the first film did, it certainly tries to give us everything that we didn't get from the first film and more. Sword fighting? Check. Car chases? Check. More kung fu? Check. More Smith vs Neo? Check, check, check. This film rocks its actions sequences to the hull. With the Wachowski brothers' keen visual flair and some bad ass ideas, "Reloaded" is loaded with awesome sequences. Memorable battles line the film to the hilt with the highlight coming about as the sword fight in the villa leads into one of the coolest highway chase scenes in cinema. Granted, they seemed more keen on using CGI for the film in these scenes that never really works (the Neo/multi-Smith throw down in the park looks like a cartoon by the end), but for the most part it really does achieve its goal on this level.

MORE SMARTER (<---- that's a joke, get it?): This film almost out smarts itself too often. Still retaining its philosophical side and mystery, "Reloaded" tends to bombard its viewers with endless monologues about beliefs and different views of life and how it works. Every larger side character seemingly has to spout off some sort of 'lesson learned' speech that just gets too tiring by the end. It does build the mystery of whether or not the main character's beliefs are being 'controlled' for another's own benefit, but by the end it just seems like it was a bit of wasted breath. Adds some fun ideas to chew on, but it sort of beats you in the face with it rather than being an undertone like it was in the original to its science fiction plot.

MORE EPIC: Indeed, this film achieves this. To its own disadvantage. Although the story does build nicely through out as Neo strives to get to the source, but it ultimately fails at the end. Why? Cause there really is no end. It ends on an odd beat seeming like an episode rather than its own film and just types off "To Be Concluded". What?! I know 2 and 3 are back to back...but...but....COP OUT! It only feels like half a film (essentially it is) so standing on its own it feels a bit lopsided as a film. When paired with "Revolutions" in watching back to back it works. On its own. It doesn't. It builds and builds and just tapers off. The action is more epic. The story is more epic, but it just ends up not feeling complete without part 3.

"The Matrix Reloaded" might have achieved its three objectives, but it was at the cost of something a little greater...balance and pacing. Reeves is perhaps even more wooden in his performance too (which says quite a lot) and the film is just not quite as efficient when it comes down to it. It's a solid sequel and a great beginning to a two-parter, but on its own it just isn't up to par. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Assassination (1987) - 1.5/5

One look on the back of the box artwork and you will notice that the filmmakers committed the ultimate sin.... "Assassination" is only rated PG-13. A Charles Bronson film produced by actionploitation masters Cannon Films and it's only rated PG fucking 13! A Charles Bronson/Cannon film is supposed to be a bloodbath with a body count that rivals "RoboCop" and "Total Recall." This unholy abomination rivals such decisions as toning down "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome", "RoboCop 3", "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" and "Live Free and Die Hard" to PG-13 drivel. Not that I'm against the PG-13 rating as I am a fan of many films that are rated this but when I go into a Charles Bronson vehicle, which is EXACTLY what "Assassination" is, I expect violent action. This is like serving pizza with no pizza sauce or a Bacardi and milk with no alcohol (sorry, I had to make a reference the peculiar drink from "Ark of the Sun God")! Sadly, the lack of violent action is not the only problem with this feeble attempt to make another "action" vehicle for the aging and still tough-as-nails Chuck Bronson.

I knew I was in for another late 80's Cannon cheap-jack film when the film's opening credits were composed of aerial stock footage of Washington D.C. complete with music lifted from Cannon's wonderfully cheesy Chuck Norris film "Invasion U.S.A." They didn't even have enough money have a new score composed?! We are then introduced to Charles Bronson who is the head of the secret service. His job becomes a living hell when the new president takes office and he is assigned to protect the bitchy first lady (played by Bronson's real life wife Jill Ireland). Soon she becomes target for assassination so Bronson escapes with her to keep her alive as he investigates and soon finds out the hired assassins are coming right out of the White House! Predicable bickering and sexual tension ensue.

Action director Peter Hunt (director of the excellent Bronson film "Death Hunt" and the underrated James Bond adventure "On Her Majesty's Secret Service") seems to be on autopilot and Bronson's performance seems like he's board, questioning his on dignitary on why he agreed to do such a drab action film. Bronson's wife Jill Ireland does her job as well as she can by making the first lady an absolute bitch that eventually comes around but it's a rather thankless role.

The film is just sloppy. Everything from execution to the writing is just half-ass. Charles Bronson's stunt doubles are obvious, the special effects are laugh inducing (watch for the exploding helicopter!), the plot is completely predictable and the characters are one dimensional. What the hell was up with Bronson's awkward love sequence with his much younger (as half his age) female partner?

"Assassination" is a bad film but all these bad qualities could have been stomachable if it had some good violent action that we crave from Bronson outputs, especially his Cannon outputs. Was "Death Wish" 3 or 4 good films? Hell no but there were awesome due to the fact they were so gratuitous with the violence and action that they almost became live action cartoons. Those were trashy entertainment! Assassination is not focusing more an a lame romance subplot and ends up an extreme disappointment from the Cannon factory. The sad part is that this was one of Jill Ireland's last films as she was sick with breast cancer at the time (she even wears a wig during the movie). It's a damn shame that her last film she would make with her husband would be something as forgettable as "Assassination."

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Curtains (1983) - 3/5

Being huge fan of horror films from the 70's and 80's it means I have an extensive list of horror films I want that have not made their way to DVD. One of these films is the 1983 seemingly forgotten slasher classic "Curtains". One day when marching through a store I found a quadruple feature for a measly $5 which contained a film called "Curtains" mixed with three other god awful looking modern horror flicks. Could it really be the original "Curtains"? The new cover artwork made it look like a crummy direct-to-video remake but sure enough, it was the one, the only "Curtains"! I quickly snagged it up and ran home to revisit a slasher film that I had not seen for years.

Molded in the same vein as slashers like "Prom Night" and "My Bloody Valentine", "Curtains" is a 'who-dun-it' slasher in which the killer is not revealed until the final act. The film opens with a famous director (played by the late great John Vernon) taking his lead actress to a mental asylum to commit her. You see she is a method actor and wants the experience of being around mentally ill inmates to help her with her role. The director is a total dick and leaves her in the asylum. With the help of a friend she escapes when she finds out he is holding a casting call with five women for the role she was supposed to play. Suddenly the women are getting killed off one by one, but who's doing the killing? Movies are a cut-throat (sorry for the pun) business and all these people are willing to kill for the part!

"Curtains" suffered from production problems that caused the release to be pushed back for three years. After shooting began in 1980 the production was halted for the director to be replaced, an actress to be replaced, and for some re-shoots. None of these problems affected the final results of the film and if I didn't do research I would have never thought it had a troubled production. Some of the pacing is off but it still comes out a more solid than one might expect.

The acting is also very good especially for a slasher film. Veteran actors John Vernon ("Animal House", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space") and Samantha Eggar ("The Brood", "The Exterminator") are wonderful like they always are. They really bring an aura of sophistication and class to this genre film. The rest of the cast of young, nimble women is also much better then stock shasher fodder.

Slasher hounds may be disheartened by the lack of onscreen blood, gore and nudity but "Curtains" still has some well crafted suspense sequences, especially a stalk and slash when "hag masked" killer goes after an actress while ice skating. The "hag mask" that the killer wears may not be as iconic as, let's say, a hokey mask but it does the job and looks great on the original poster artwork.

Though not a great horror flick and it does lack some of the excessive attractions such as blood and gore but it's definitely good slasher fare with a solid cast and suspense that deserves to be re-discovered by fans and perhaps someday a better DVD release will emerge. The DVD release from Echo Bridge Entertainment is a watchable full screen VHS transfer that isn't terrible but definitely not good. Spoiled people who live and breathe high definition that refuse to watch rare movies with older format transfers will no doubt hate the release and all I have to say is "fuck off." It's better than having a VHS that could wear out at any moment and people who have never seen it finally have a chance to without resorting to paying high prices for a beat up ex-rental VHS. Perhaps Echo Bridge will eventually re-release the film with a better transfer. They did with "Prom Night" so anything is possible...

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Click Here to buy "Curtains" on DVD

In The Mouth Of Madness - 4/5

Like many of the great Horror innovators from the early days, John Carpenter's more recent directing catalog has not been his best, but there is one film that stands out from the rest like a beacon of his former glory. That film is "In The Mouth Of Madness". As an homage to the work of H.P. Lovecraft through various references in its plot, this film is truly nightmarish at times while keeping a hidden dark humor to it so that it never feels quite so heavy. This is what modern Carpenter films should be compared to.

John Trent (Neill) is the best at his job. Sniffing out the cons. When he is hired to find missing horror writer Sutter Cane (Prochnow) and retrieve the final book he is set to deliver with the help of Cane's editor Styles (Carmen), he discovers that Cane may have not been writing fiction at all. Stumbling upon a supposedly fictional town of evil, Hobb's End, the two find Cane about to finish his final book. This final book though, entitled "In The Mouth Of Madness" seems to have a horrifying effect on its readers and seemingly is able to blur the edge of reality and fictional horror.

"In The Mouth Of Madness" is a fairly scary film in its own right. Attacking that oh so pleasant topic of 'how far is too far for media before its deemed a societal detriment', this film strikes a rather unique style of its own with its nightmarish devices. Self referencing more often than not, it tends to blur the edge of its own reality with the audience (the ending really brings it out) as well as that for its cynical protagonist Trent. With some great plot progressions, tons of scary visual work (including some small things like the shifting painting in the little inn), and some great beats as the film slowly twists its own way into madness, this modern Carpenter flick is what modern Horror should be about. It still retains great atmosphere while never losing its visual prowess. It just blends well.

It also helps that this might be my favorite role for Sam Neill I've seen. The character Trent is your basic cynical asshole that is first to nag and detail everything, but watching him slowly unravel as his reality crumbles is something fascinating to watch. Neill's portrayal is damn near perfect. A little less could be said about most of his supporting cast with a missed chemistry hindering the effect for the character Styles and such, but Neill makes up for most of it luckily.

Although sometimes the pacing feels a bit off, "In The Mouth Of Madness" might be one of my favorite Carpenter films to date. It's penchant for Lovecraft and its execution visually and script wise more than makes up for its minor flaws. It's scary, sometimes funny, and damn entertaining. If only Carpenter could have made more like this in the decade following. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Robin Hood: Men In Tights - 4/5

Very rarely do Comedies find their way into my viewing cache here at Blood Brothers. Too many of them are watered down for mass consumption and few of them make it into cult circles for me to truly take much interest in them. That is unless it's a Mel Brooks film. Which is the reason you are reading the review for "Robin Hood: Men In Tights", Brooks' ever comical spoof on "Robin Hood: Price Of Thieves" and various other previous versions of the legend. This film is cartoonish, simple, somewhat loose on its morals, and completely hilarious. Is it to be taken seriously? Absolutely not. But it should be taken under doctor supervision.

Robin Hood (Elwes) escapes from a prison in Jerusalem only to find that his entire family is dead and his land and castle taken for back taxes by the shameless Prince John (Lewis). Thusly Robin decides to build a group of merry men ("No, no. We're straight. Just... merry.") to thwart John and his evil Sheriff of Rottingham (Rees) and win the heart of his beloved Maid Marian (Yasbeck). Its going to take a lot of charm, swordplay, and a few eggs of tights to get the job done but Robin is up for the job. Perhaps too up.

Firstly, this is most definitely a Mel Brooks film. Its completely out of whack with its combination of puns, boob jokes, awkward moments, random song and dance routines, and, in true Brooks fashion, plenty of 4th wall breaking. Now if any of this sounds childish to you...it is. So if you can't take it, then this film will make you look around at the people laughing at it and think, "how can they laugh, it's so stupid! So what if her name was shithouse?" In all honestly, it is childish but its so forgivable for its off the wall jokes and random references. Every time you watch it you'll probably catch something new and that means a lot for a comedy.

Half of the this film's awesomeness can be dedicated to its oddball writing. The other half is dedicated to its actors and their brilliant comedic timing (with a little help from Brooks as a director). Elwes is the perfect Robin Hood in his own smirk driven over the top manner (the smirk rarely leaves his face in this film) and his supporting cast is only just as cleverly cast and portrayed. Special props have to be given to Blinkin (played by Blankfield) for his endless parade of physical and verbal jokes concerning his blindness that never cease to be funny.

"Robin Hood: Men In Tights" is a hilarious return to form for Brooks, as he was quickly fading from comedy greatness, and a true comedy that really stands the test of time. If you haven't seen "Prince Of Thieves" you may miss some of the jokes ("Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.") but its not a huge portion of the film sans some of its structuring and occasional jab. It's a great comedy that never ceases to be funny. Warning though, either you get it or you don't with Mel Brooks.

Written By Matt Reifschneider