Tag: Debra Hill

Movie Review – ‘Halloween’ (2018) – Kill It With Fire

Directed by David Gordon Green
Written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, & Jeff Fradley, based on characters created by John Carpenter & Debra Hill
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney, Jefferson Hall, Rhian Rees, Toby Huss, Haluk Bilginer, Dylan Arnold, Miles Robbins, Drew Scheid, Jibrail Nantambu
Soundtrack: Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, & Daniel A. Davies

And you thought your favorite franchise had timeline issues?  (Looking at you, Star Trek.)

At the time, John Carpenter’s 1978 film Halloween was essentially a next-generation Psycho (right down to casting Janet Leigh’s daughter in the starring role, and having a character named Sam Loomis), but the movie’s financial and cultural success spawned hundreds of imitators in a rather short amount of time, creating the sub-genre known as the slasher film (of which the original Halloween is still among the most artfully done).

It was followed by a sequel in 1981 (the “year of the slasher”), Halloween II, itself followed by more sequels (4, 5, and 6; but not III, that’s totally unrelated).  Then, in 1998, there was Halloween H20, which is a sequel to I and II but ignores the continuity of 4, 5, and 6, which was itself followed by a sequel in 2002, Halloween: Resurrection (the subtitle du jour of the era).  What is this; the Godzilla franchise?

Now, this 2018 film is apparently a direct sequel to the 1978 original (the only one I’ve ever seen, which I suppose makes me the perfect guinea pig for this), ignoring all other sequels and continuity (which, by the way, doesn’t even include Rob Zombie’s Halloween I & II from 2007 and 2009, respectively).

So now that no one is confused, let’s talk David Gordon Green’s Halloween.

Without hyperbole, this is one of the worst movies (particularly of the contemporary variety) that I’ve seen in a long time.  Even going in with tempered expectations (and that’s being kind) I was still disappointed.  If you told me it was a fan film, I’d still be disappointed.

The story is inane, the characters are dreadful, the dialogue is laughable, the acting is poor, the logic is unfathomable, the tone is all of the cringiest moments from The Last Jedi for a hundred straight minutes, and, perhaps the greatest sin of all, as a sequel to a film that oozes atmosphere and visual style, there is none to be found here.

In a word: embarrassing.

I thought I’d seen the worst of Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy with the Robocop remake, but Halloween 2018 just might be the lowest of the low.  The only morsel of entertainment I got out of the film came from a child in a bit part (and even that was probably an accident).  Outside of that, there’s nothing satisfying; no suspense, no thrills, no comeuppance, nothing.

In all seriousness, no one should ever see this movie in any way, and the filmmakers should feel ashamed.

Rating: ½ star (out of five)

P.S.
At one point, a police officer says something to the effect of, “Michael Myers running around on October 31st?  That’s going to be a madhouse.  But what are we going to do, cancel Halloween?”

Uh, yeah, you cancel Halloween.  They postponed trick-or-treating where I live like three years in a row on account of unsafe weather conditions.  I’M SURE YOU’D DO THE SAME IF A SERIAL KILLER WAS ON THE LOOSE.

I hate this movie so much.

Classic Movie Quinella – ‘RussellMania’: The Kurt Russell Marathon – Land of the Free

Another Super Bowl Saturday, another actor marathon at Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers: Caged, Stallone Zone, Van Dammage, Burt Day, ‘HEY, ARNOLD!‘, and now, RussellMania 2018.

I had sky high hopes for this one, but for the first time in attending these events, I actually left fairly disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Kurt Russell, I love my new hat, and I got to see four movies I had never seen before (which I do place a certain value on), but overall it just wasn’t quite the same enjoyable ride I’ve become accustomed to over the past five years.

The man himself needs no introduction though, so let’s get into these movies.

 

Movie #1: Tango & Cash (1989)

Right off the bat, I was wrong.

Seeing as how this film lead off Stallone Zone (click the link to read the Tango & Cash review), I figured there was no way we’d see it again here, but, as I said, I was wrong.

I will say, it was interesting watching it again as a Kurt Russell movie rather than a Stallone movie, but I don’t really have anything more to say now than I did in 2014.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Movie #2: Breakdown (1997)

I remember my cousin putting this on once at my aunt and uncle’s house, probably around the time it first hit DVD (which was technology beyond my imagination at the time), only I don’t think I watched past the first half hour or so, so I never realized until seeing it on the big screen that Breakdown turns into an action movie by the end (spoilers?).

Before that though, the movie feels extremely Hitchcockian, so much so that you could believe it’s a remake of something Hitch actually made (though to my knowledge it is not and I’ll happily give full credit to writer/director Jonathan Mostow).  The story’s simple enough (I’d actually make a gentle comparison to The Belko Experiment, just in terms of imagining yourself in the same situation), and it doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming too twisty, which I appreciated.

Ultimately, it comes down to personal taste as to whether or not the third act works for you.  I’m okay with it, but I understand others feeling somewhat betrayed by it.

Either way though, I’d still say it’s solid.

Rating: ★★★½

 

Movie #3: Used Cars (1980)

Before Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale made one of the greatest movies of all time (review here), they had a string of less successful endeavors (I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1941), culminating with 1980’s Used Cars (although they did write one of my favorite episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker).

Used Cars isn’t great, and its definitely a touch bloated, but it’s not without its charms.  For one thing, it’s Kurt’s first R-rated performance, which is interesting to see at odds with his still-lingering Disney good guy persona, and it’s got Jack Warden doing some classic one-actor-playing-twin-brothers schtick, and a good amount of the satirical humor still holds up today.

It also hearkens back to a time when comedy wasn’t strictly a bargain basement genre and studios weren’t afraid to throw in a little more production value when necessary, even for an non-family friendly comedy.

Not everybody will fully enjoy Used Cars because it’s such a product of its time, but for me, that’s why I found it interesting and why I’d give it another watch someday.

Rating: ★★★½

 

Movie #4: Executive Decision (1996)

Speaking of the kinds of movies that don’t get made anymore, let’s talk Executive Decision (which is one I was hoping for, for better or worse).

Stuff like this just has a certain je ne sais quoi that feels missing from Hollywood of the present (the fact that it was made pre-9/11 definitely has something to do with that).  It’s not like we have a dearth of action movies these days, but Executive Decision takes itself seriously in both story and tone where a movie today would have a wink and a nod (it’s no surprise that the last similar example I can think of, Behind Enemy Lines, was also a story by Jim and John Thomas).

I think it’s fair to say that Kurt plays against type here, at least relative to the “action man” roles he was known for at the time, but, even in a lame tuxedo and nerdy spectacles, he’s still cooler than we could ever dream of being.

“All-star cast” may be a stretch (it’s no Airport ’77), but, at the time, Executive Decision certainly had a mix of experienced pros and hot up-and-comers (most notably Halle Berry).  Given that it’s a 90s action movie, I’ll say everyone does a fine job.

That said, let’s call it what it is, “Die Hard on a plane.”

Still worth a watch though, just get comfortable.

Rating: ★★★½

 

Movie #5: Escape from L.A. (1996)

This is not how I wanted the day to end.

I don’t want to merely compare this movie to Escape from New York, but I don’t think it leaves you with much of a choice.

Honestly, Escape from L.A. is depressingly bad in comparison to its predecessor.  New York was a low-budget underdog that managed to find an audience and punch a bit above its weight class.  It stands on its reputation more so than its actual quality, but at the same time it was a fairly progressive movie in terms of film-making, what with the use of the Panaglide (an early “cousin” of the Steadicam) and new techniques that allowed Dean Cundey to shoot many city blocks deep using only streetlamps for lighting; not to mention how the film allowed Kurt Russell to truly pivot away from his Disney comedy roots.

On the other hand, L.A. is essentially The Asylum version of New York, with a copy-and-paste script, horrendous CGI effects, and terribly cheesy performances.  In fact, the only element you can point to as being better than the original is the fact that they shot a scene at the real L.A. Coliseum, but the movie is still so terrible that it doesn’t even matter.

Escape from L.A. is awful, it was rightfully a box office bomb, and if you truly love Escape from New York, you should never ever watch it.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

 

So, there you have it.  Not the best day, but definitely not all bad.  Just kind of middling, and therefore not what I expected given Kurt’s body of work.

I guess they can’t all be winners.

 

This hat though, this hat is a winner.