Review: Steven Spielberg's "EMPIRE OF THE SUN"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 of 2023 (No. 1916) by Leroy Douresseaux

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Running time:  153 minutes (2 hours, 33 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg

WRITER:  Tom Stoppard (based on the novel by J.G. Ballard)

PRODUCERS:  Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Allen Daviau (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Michael Kahn

COMPOSER:  John Williams

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring:  Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, Joe Pantoliano, Leslie Phillips, Masato Ibu, Emily Richard, Rupert Frazer, Peter Gale, Takataro Kataoka, and Ben Stiller

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 wartime drama and historical film directed by Steven Spielberg.  The film is based on the 1984 semi-autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun, from author J.G. Ballard (1930-2009).  Empire of the Sun the film focuses on a young English boy who is separated from his parents and then, struggles to survive the Japanese occupation of China during World War II

Empire of the Sun opens in 1941 in the “International Settlement,” an enclave of British and American citizens in Shanghai, China.  James “Jamie” Graham is the only child of an British upper middle class couple, John Graham (Rupert Frazer) and Mary Graham (Emily Richard).  Jamie enjoys a privileged life in the International Settlement, but he keeps an eye on the activities of the Japanese who have encroached on Shanghai.  After their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese begin their occupation of the settlement.  During the family's bid to escape, Jamie is separated from his parents.

Eventually, Jamie is taken prisoner and moved into an internment camp.  He survives by befriending the American expatriate and hustler, Basie (John Malkovich), and also the kindly Englishman, Dr. Rawlins (Nigel Havers).  Now, called “Jim” by everyone, he establishes a successful trading network that keeps him with food and necessities.  As World War II drags on, however, Jim realizes that he no longer remembers what his parents look like.

Last year, I began watching and, in some cases, re-watching early Steven Spielberg films, such as Duel, Jaws, and 1941, in anticipation of Spielberg's autobiographical film, The Fabelmans, which was released in 2022.  The film has long since completed its theatrical run, but there remained Spielberg films I wanted to see.  I had been putting off watching Empire of the Sun for 36 years, and my best resource to see it, DVDNetflix, is closing soon.  So why not see Empire of the Sun now?

What can I say?  Empire of the Sun is not one of Spielberg's better films.  It does not really have a narrative center, and the plot is unfixed.  The film plays like a series of anecdotes – many, many, many anecdotes – played over a film that runs nearly two and a half hours long.  Some of the scenes have great emotional impact, such as Jim's reunion with his parents and even that last shot of the suitcase in the water.  Still, overall, the film lacks dramatic heft and emotion.  It's too cold and is disjointed.  Instead of feeling like a narrative that flows from beginning to end, Empire of the Sun feels like individual pages from a children's picture book.

If Empire of the Sun is a coming-of-age story and a boys' adventure tale, then, the film needs a great boy.  That is what actor Christian Bale is for this film.  All of 13-years-old when filming began, Bale carries Empire of the Sun with the tenacity and acting chops of an actor more than twice his age.  Bale embodies the emotional depth and dramatic depth that this film lacks as a whole.  None of the other actors' performances approach his, not because they are bad, but because neither Spielberg nor Tom Stoppard's script gives them the space and material.

Spielberg makes this film seem as if its true purpose is to be about a boy and his wartime adventures.  Thus, none of the Japanese elements really feel as if they have the force of an empire behind them.  Still, the focus on Jim Graham works because Christian Bale is the child emperor of Empire of the Sun.

6 of 10

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Sunday, June 25, 2023

NOTES:

1988 Academy Awards, USA:  6 nominations:  “Best Cinematography” (Allen Daviau), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Norman Reynolds and Harry Cordwell), “Best Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood), “Best Sound” (Robert Knudson, Don Digirolamo, John Boyd, and Tony Dawe), “Best Film Editing” (Michael Kahn), and “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams)

1989 BAFTA Awards:  3 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Allen Daviau), “Best Score” (John Williams), and “Best Sound” (Charles L. Campbell, Louis L. Edemann, Robert Knudson, and Tony Dawe); 3 nominations:  “Best Screenplay-Adapted” (Tom Stoppard), “Best Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood), and “Best Production Design” (Norman Reynolds)

1988 Golden Globes, USA  2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Original Score-Motion Picture” (John Williams)

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Original "HELLRAISER" Will Still Tear Your Soul Apart

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 of 2022 (No. 1869) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hellraiser (1987)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
Rated – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Clive Barker
PRODUCER:  Christopher Figg
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robin Vidgeon (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Richard Marden
COMPOSER:  Christopher Young

HORROR/FANTASY

Starring:  Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Andrew Robinson, Sean Chapman, Robert Hines, Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, Simon Bamford, Grace Kirby, Frank Baker, and Oliver Smith

Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker.  The film is an adaptation of Barker's 1986 novella, “The Hellbound Heart,” which was first published in the third volume in Dark Harvest's Night Visions anthology series.  This movie also launched the Hellraiser film series, which is currently comprised of eleven films, including an upcoming reboot film, entitled Hellraiser, to be streamed on Hulu.  The first Hellraiser movie focuses on a daughter, a father, his second wife, and his brother (who was his wife's lover), and a group of sadomasochistic beings known as the “Cenobites.”

Hellraiser introduces Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman), who searches the world for the greatest pleasures.  His travels take him to Morocco where he buys a strange puzzle box.  In the empty attic of his late parents' home, Frank solves the puzzle and opens the box.  From the box, hooked chains emerge and begin to tear Frank apart because he has fallen into the clutches of a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic beings called the Cenobites.  Demons to some and angels to others, they offer the greatest pleasure … but also the greatest pain.

Some time afterward, Frank's brother, Larry Cotton (Andrew Robinson), moves into the house in a bid to rebuild his strained relationship with his second wife, Julia (Clare Higgins).  Larry's adult daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), decides to get a place of her own.  Larry is also unaware that shortly before they were married, Julia had a torrid affair with Frank.

While moving furniture into the house, Larry has an accident that leaves blood dripped onto the attic floor.  Beneath that floor are the desiccated remains of Frank, and Larry's blood begins to revive the tissue.  Soon, Frank has returned as a skinless corpse that is soon found by Julia.  In order to revive Frank, Julia begins luring men into the attic.  Julia and Frank's activities have not gone unnoticed and the puzzle box is still around.  And so are the Cenobites.

I first saw Hellraiser when it played at a local theater; my memory says 1988.  For me it was an unforgettable cinematic experience.  I saw it several times over the following years, but I have not watched it in well over two decades.  Seeing it again, I was surprised at how much of it I actually remembered correctly, which is not always the case when I haven't seen a movie in time that can be measured in decades.

Christopher Young's score is as great as I remembered it to be.  Bold and shamelessly intrusive, it is one of the best musical scores for a horror film that I have ever heard.  The make-up and costumes, especially the former, are still amazing and still seem imaginative, although much of it has been copied and replicated countless times since the original release of Hellraiser.  It is a shame that the committee that oversees the “best make-up” category of the Academy Awards isn't a bit more adventurous and imaginative in their choices.  Hellraiser deserved an Oscar nod for its make-up effects.

I like the performances.  When I see American actor Andrew Robinson on some television series, he usually looks as if he just killed someone, but here, he is convincing as Larry Cotton, loving father and determined spouse.  Claire Higgins looks as if she has a stick up her ass, but it serves her imperious ice queen character, Julia, quite well.  Sean Chapman is half-and-half as Frank, but Oliver Smith who plays the “monster version” of Frank, is excellent.  The best actor in this film, however, is Ashley Laurence, who comes across as genuine in the role of loving daughter and “final girl.”  I think the Hellraiser film franchise became low rent over time because she did not stick around past the second film in the series, Hellbound: Hellraiser II.

For me, Hellraiser works.  By the time I first saw it, I had read several of Clive Barker's short fiction via the American release of his Books of Blood short story collections.  I was familiar with his brand of horror and dark horror, which was deeply imaginative in terms of plot, setting, and characters and also in its depictions of violence.  Clive Barker is different, and so is his film, Hellraiser.  It is a viewing and storytelling experience like no other.  And almost four decades later, Hellraiser can still tear your soul apart, dear readers.

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, September 22, 2022


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#28DaysofBlack Review: "HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE" Still Has Something to Say

[Upon its release, Hollywood Shuffle felt like something that needed to be said.  It was time to say enough to the way Black people were portrayed in Hollywood film and television productions.  And yes, maybe some Black actors should have said no to stereotypical roles, as long as they didn't have bills to pay …]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 of 2021 (No. 1754) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Running time:  81 minutes (1hour, 21 minutes)
MPAA – R
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Robert Townsend
WRITERS:  Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Deming
EDITOR:  W.O. Garrett
COMPOSERS:  Udi Harpaz and Patrice Rushen

COMEDY

Starring:  Robert Townsend, Anne-Marie Johnson, Craigus R. Johnson, Helen Martin, Starletta DuPois, David McKnight, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Lou B. Washington, John Witherspoon, Eugene Robert Glazer, Lisa Mende, Dom Irrera, Brad Sanders, Conni Marie Brazelton, Sena Ayn Black, Jesse Aragon, Verda Bridges, Grand L. Bush, and Damon Wayans

Hollywood Shuffle is a 1987 American satirical comedy film from producer-director Robert Townsend.  The film focuses on the trials and tribulations of a Black actor limited to stereotypical roles who dreams of making it as a highly respected actor.

Hollywood Shuffle introduces Robert “Bobby” Taylor (Robert Townsend), a young black man aspiring to become an actor.  Bobby has been preparing for his audition for the lead role in Tinsel Town Pictures' new urban drama.  Entitled “Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge,” this movie about street gangs is full of stereotypes about African-Americans and Latinos.

Bobby's grandmother (Helen Martin) overhears the “jive talk” Bobby uses to practice his lines, and she vociferously expresses her disapproval, while Bobby's mother (Starletta DuPois) is more supportive.  Bobby wants to be a great actor so that he won't have to work at places like his current place of employment, “Winky Dinky Dog.”  Bobby's grandmother says that if he desires a respectable job, there is honest work at the post office.  Bobby believes that if he lands the role of Jimmy in Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge, everything will get better for his career and for his family.  But is that true?  As Bobby works towards his dream, the film also takes a satiric look at African-American actors in Hollywood and at Hollywood in general.

As far as I can tell, it has been over twenty years since I last saw Hollywood Shuffle.  Seeing it after such a long time, I find that it has actually aged well.  African-American actors have made great strides in the American film and television industry since Hollywood Shuffle's first release.  However, in some ways, African-American actors, indeed actors of color and non-white actors, continues to deal with stereotypes about who they are, what roles they should play, and in what kind of films and TV in which they should appear.

There are notions about the limited box office potential of films featuring African-American and non-white actors, especially when they have lead or major roles in films.  Because of that, Hollywood Shuffle's satire remains sharp, if for no other reason than that there are still Bobby Taylors and Bobbi Taylors dealing with casting directors that have concrete, incorrect ideas about the physicality of Black people and performers.

Meanwhile, Hollywood Shuffle is more than a satirical comedy about Hollywood.  It is also a comedy that is both a send-up of and tribute to Hollywood's most familiar genres.  Writers Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and comedian Dom Irrera (who did not receive a screen credit as a writer) fashion numerous skits and sketches that fit well with the main story line, Bobby Taylor's quest.  “Sneaking into the Movies,” a send-up of the late film critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, is unforgettable and much-copied.  Sam Ace and “The Death of a Breakdancer,” a spoof of the detective movies of Hollywood's Golden Era, surprisingly works much better than one might think.  Having a villain like “Jerry Curl” (Keenen Ivory Wayans), with his curl activator addiction, helps.  “Black Acting School” is satire so savage that it is almost strident … almost.  And “ho cakes” is worth remembering.

I am still amazed at how much Townsend and his cast and crew got out of a one-hundred thousand dollar budget.  An exercise in guerrilla filmmaking, Hollywood Shuffle remains one of the top indie comedies and African-American films of the 1980s, showing that imagination, inventiveness, and working together for a common cause can overcome budget constraints … for the most part.

Yes, things are “better than they were.”  As long as white supremacy and white privilege reign in the United States, Hollywood Shuffle will always be relevant and also funny.

A-
7 out of 10

Tuesday, February 16, 2021


NOTES:
1987  Image Awards:  2 nominations:  “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Helen Martin) and “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Robert Townsend)


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Review: "THE PRINCESS BRIDE" Still Storming the Castle

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

The Princess Bride (1987)

Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Rob Reiner

WRITER:  William Goldman (based on the book by William Goldman)

PRODUCERS:  Rob Reiner and Andrew Scheinman

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Adrian Biddle

EDITOR:  Robert Leighton

COMPOSER:  Mark Knopfler

Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ROMANCE/ADVENTURE/FAMILY

Starring:  Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Carol Kane, and Billy Crystal

The Princess Bride is a 1987 fantasy-adventure and romantic film from director Rob Reiner.  The film is based on William Goldman's 1973 novel, The Princess Bride, for which Goldman wrote the screenplay adaptation.  2017 will mark the 30th anniversary of the film's release (October 9, 1987).  In The Princess Bride the film, a grandfather tells his grandson the story of a princess sought by two men who desire her – one a mysterious hero and the other a hateful prince.

The Princess Bride opens with a framing story in which The Grandfather (Peter Falk) reads a book, “The Princess Bride,” to The Grandson (Fred Savage), who is sick and relegated to his bed.  The story then travels from the present day of the Grandson's bedroom to the past of the Renaissance Era.  The place of arrival is a country named “Florin.”  There, we meet Buttercup (Robin Wright), a beautiful young woman, and Westley (Cary Elwes), the farmhand she loves to order around.  The truth is that Buttercup loves Westley, but one day, Westley leaves the farm to seek his fortune.

Later, Buttercup learns that Westley was on ship that was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts and is assumed dead.  The story moves ahead five years, and Buttercup has reluctantly agreed to marry Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), Prince of Florin.  There are, however, conspiracies and conspirators afoot who stand in the way of that marriage.  This includes a Sicilian crime boss named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), a giant named Fezzik (André the Giant), a Spanish master swordsman named Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a mysterious man in black.

Recently, IDW Publishing sent me a copy-for-review of their adult coloring book based on The Prince Bride, entitled The Princess Bride: A Storybook to Color.  I decided that I finally needed to sit down and watch The Princes Bride, start to finish, in its entirety, which I had never done.  Why had I not done that before?  I don't know.  I have always been curious about the movie, and I even owned a copy of William Goldman's novel a long time ago (which I lost before I could read it).

I can describe The Princess Bride as a multi-genre movie.  It is part medieval fantasy, part storybook romance, and part swashbuckling adventure (quietly and gently adventurous).  And the result is a damn fine movie.  I don't know what makes it work, but I think director Rob Reiner has a lot to do with that.  His directorial pace and mood suggests that he wanted this movie to be a storybook tale that found comedy in the elements of fairy tales and fantasy, but without mocking and parodying them.  Also, I think William Goldman's screenplay builds the characters using quirks and eccentricities so that he can poke fun at the players rather than at the genres that are their field of play.

The resulting film is an utterly delightful and a truly unique cinematic gem.  I don't think Reiner could get The Princess Bride made today, not without pumping it full of intense action and making extensive use of computer-generated imagery (CGI).  If made today, even the film's photography would be heavily altered and enhanced through the use of software.

The Princess Bride is essentially a “hand-made” movie, and somehow the talent involved in this film made magic.  I bet they did not realize that until they saw the finished film.  If you have not yet seen The Princess Bride, it is time for you to realize the magic, too.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, January 22, 2017

NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Willy DeVille for the song "Storybook Love")

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Review: Original "Robocop" Still an Amazing Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Robocop (1987)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Paul Verhoeven
WRITERS:  Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner
PRODUCER:  Arne Schmidt
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jost Vacano (D.o.P.) with Sol Negrin
EDITOR:  Frank J. Urioste
COMPOSER:  Basil Poledouris
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/CRIME/ACTION

Starring:  Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Jesse Goins, Del Zamora, Steve Minh, Ken Page, and Laird Stuart

Some believe that “standing the test of time” is a mark that a work of fiction, entertainment, art, etc. is of the highest-quality, most important, or just plain good.  Of course, for some people, the best stories get better with age.

Robocop is a 1987 science fiction, crime, and action film from director Paul Verhoeven.  Twenty-seven years later, Robocop is still a fantastic film, and maybe even better now than it was when it was first released.  The film is set in a dystopia, a near-future version of Detroit, Michigan and focuses on a policeman who returns from the dead as a powerful cyborg cop that might be the future of law enforcement.

Robocop opens in the future and finds Detroit beset by crime and on the verge of collapse because of rampant crime and a severe financial crisis.  To keep the city alive, the mayor signs a deal with Omni Consumer Products (OCP).  The deal allows OCP to take over the Detroit Metropolitan Police Department and to also build a high-end real estate development called “Delta City,” by demolishing rundown sections of Detroit.

Meanwhile, Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) arrives at Police Precinct Metro West as a transfer from a precinct that is much nicer than the busy and troubled Metro West.  Not long after his arrival, Murphy and his partner, Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), confront a vicious criminal gang.  Murphy is killed in the line of duty, but OCP revives him as a cyborg – part man and mostly machine.  Murphy is now “RoboCop,” the future of law enforcement, but this future is haunted by submerged memories of his past life.

With Robocop, writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner wrote one of the smartest and best screenplays in the history of science fiction films.  Robocop includes themes regarding corporate greed and corruption, identity, mass media, urban decay and gentrification, among many.  The film is clever in the way it satirizes a news media that trivializes even the most serious and tragic events (murder, natural disasters, civil unrest), turning them into junk news for “entertainment consumers.”  At the time of Robocop’s release, television news was already coming under heavy criticism for being “infotainment.”  Robocop was dead-on in predicting where television news was headed, as current real-world TV news is, in many ways, like what Robocop depicts.

Watching Robocop for the first time in ages, I noticed that the film is stylistically like a Western.  Thematically, Robocop bears a resemblance to Westerns that focus on the lone lawman, fighting against a corrupt system and the vilest bad guys.  This film is also similar to Westerns that focus on a good guy returning from near-death or grave injury to deliver payback to the evil-doers that hurt him.  Basil Poledouris driving and colorful score for this film is the perfect musical accompaniment for scenes featuring RoboCop when he is man on a mission.

And Robocop is simply a damn good movie.  Compared to his other films, director Paul Verhoeven delivers a film that is clean and straightforward.  He relies on the screenplay to be clever and complicated, while his direction is sparse and matter-of-fact.  The result is a science fiction movie that looks more like a crime film and cop action movie than it does a film about the future.  In fact, Robocop seems less a prediction of the future and more like a message from the actual future.

This film has a number of good performances, but Peter Weller stands out.  He plays Murphy as being barely noticeable as a person, but Weller employs mechanical affectations to turn RoboCop into a magnetic personality.  I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and Weller left me wanting more of Robocop, the movie and, indeed, the man.

9 of 10
A+

Saturday, July 12, 2014


NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win “Special Achievement Award” (Stephen Hunter Flick and John Pospisil for sound effects editing); 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin, and Robert Wald), and “Best Film Editing” (Frank J. Urioste)

1989 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations: “Best Make Up Artist” (Carla Palmer) and “Best Special Effects” (Rob Bottin, Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, and Rocco Gioffre)

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Monster Squad" Still a Treat

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 122 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Monster Squad (1987)
Running time: 82 minutes (1 hour, 22 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR:  Fred Dekker
WRITERS:  Shane Black and Fred Dekker
PRODUCER:  Jonathan A. Zimbert
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bradford May
EDITOR:  James Mitchell
COMPOSER:  Bruce Broughton

HORROR/COMEDY

Starring:  Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Tom Noonan, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Michael Faustino, Mary Ellen Trainor, Duncan Regehr, Leonardo Cimino, Lisa Fuller, Jonathan Gries, Jason Hervey, Carl Thibault, Michael Reid MacKay, Stan Shaw, and Jack Gwillim

The subject of this review is The Monster Squad, a 1987 comic horror film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Shane Black and Dekker.  In the movie, re-imagined versions of classic movie monsters invade a small town in a bid to control the world, but they face a bad of savvy kids determined to stop them.

The 1987 cult-favorite flick, the comic horror film, The Monster Squad, has recently found new life 20 years after being largely overlooked upon its initial theatrical release.  While it remains basically a horror flick for children (appropriate even in these politically correct times), the film is, at time, genuinely scary.  The villains of The Monster Squad are also an homage to the monsters of classic Universal Studios black and white monster movies.

Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and Gill Man descend upon a small town in search of a diabolically powerful amulet that could give Dracula (Duncan Regehr) dominion over the world.  The only thing that could stop the amulet’s power is an incantation in a diary belonging to Dracula’s arch-nemesis, Van Helsing (Jack Gwillim).   However, the book has fallen into the hands of 12-year-old Sean Crenshaw (Andre Gower).

Sean and the rest of his young friends idolize classic monster movies, and call themselves The Monster Squad.  With the help of his gang of monster-obsessed misfits, Sean tries to stop Dracula’s nefarious plans.  Can the Monster Squad:  Sean, Patrick (Robby Kiger), Fat Kid/Horace (Brent Chalem), Rudy (Ryan Lambert), Eugene (Michael Faustino), and Sean’s little sister, Phoebe (Ashley Bank), save the day?  With Sean’s dad, policeman Del Crenshaw (Stephen Macht) and Scary German Guy (Michael Cimino) helping, they just might, and it’s worth watching this movie to find out.

Co-writers Shane Black and Fred Dekker, who also directs this film, seem to take the view that one can place children (in this case pre-teens and early teens) in a horror scenario – one as scary as the horror movies they might watch.  Although a juvenile cast means that Black and Dekker wouldn’t make a bloody, slasher film, to make a horror flick, they would still have to present their youthful characters in situations in which they face actual peril or severe bodily harm or even death.  After all, a scary movie for kids is still a scary movie.

The Monster Squad isn’t even a great horror film, or even a very good movie.  For one thing, the narrative occasionally takes great leaps, leaving out crucial scenes.  Perhaps, the producers forced cuts to reduce the film’s runtime, and the loss of scenes occasionally caused lapses in logic within the narrative.  Still, while it may not be a great movie, it’s a memorable B-movie.  The Monster Squad is just fun to watch, warts and all.

6 of 10
B

Monday, September 03, 2007

Updated:  Saturday, November 23, 2013

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Review: Something for Everyone in "Amazon Women on the Moon" (Happy B'day, John Landis)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 207 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Running time: 85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTORS:  Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss
WRITERS:  Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland
PRODUCER:  Robert K. Weiss
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Daniel Pearl
EDITORS:  Malcolm Campbell, Marshall Harvey, and Bert Lovitt
COMPOSER:  Ira Newborn

COMEDY

Starring:  Arsenio Hall, B.B. King, David Alan Grier, William Bryant, Roxie Rocker, Rosanna Arquette, Steve Guttenberg, Ed Begley Jr., Carrie Fisher, Sybil Danning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Griffin Dunne, Henry Silva, Andrew Dice Clay, and Russ Meyer

The subject of this movie review is Amazon Women on the Moon, a 1987 satirical comedy and parody anthology film.  The film spoofs 1950s sci-fi movies by featuring a fake 50s sci-fi movie called “Amazon Women on the Moon.”  In between segments of “Amazon Women on the Moon,” the movie offers 21 comedy sketches meant to parody the experience of watching low-budget movies and infomercials on late-night television.

Amazon Women on the Moon is kind of a sequel to The Kentucky Fried Movie, the cult classic spoof film comprised of several skits lampooning TV news, commercials, and films.  Amazon Women on the Moon does much of the same thing – using short comedy sketches to spoof late night porn, commercials, infomercials, and educational films.  The movie also spoofs 1950’s sci-fi films in the form of the title skit, Amazon Women on the Moon.  The tale of three astronauts who travel from the Earth to the moon and discover a race of superwomen led the buxom Queen Lara (Sybil Danning).  The Amazon Women skit not only pokes big fun at the super low production values of old science fiction films, it even makes fun of the technical difficulties that occasionally plague late night TV and old movies.

Perhaps, the subject that the film best skewers is tabloid news fodder, the kind of sensational human interest stories one would find in tabloid magazines because of their shock value.  Some of Amazon Women on the Moon’s best moments include skits about a doctor loosing a couple’s newborn son (featuring Michelle Pfeiffer), a woman who uses a credit card machine to download a consumer dating report on her blind date, a funeral home that uses a celebrity roast in lieu of a funeral service to send off the recently departed, and a man who is killed by his rabidly malfunctioning household appliances (featuring Arsenio Hall).

I found Amazon Women on the Moon not quite as funny as I did the first time I saw it about 16 or 17 years ago, but it’s best moments are still quite hilarious and irreverent, even jaw dropping and surreal, at times.  Imagine “Saturday Night Live” or “Mad TV” with a harder edge or with a more brutal sense of humor.  It’s wacky, wild, and weird, and I heartily recommend it.  Even those who won’t like it much will still find at least one skit that strongly assaults their funny bone.

7 of 10
B+

Updated:  Saturday, August 03, 2013

Review: Michael Douglas' Performance in Original "Wall Street" Still Amazes

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 104 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wall Street (1987)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Oliver Stone
WRITERS: Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone
PRODUCER: Edward R. Pressman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Claire Simpson
COMPOSER: Stewart Copeland
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Darryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, John C. McGinley, Hal Holbrook, James Karen, Terrence Stamp, Sean Young, James Spader, Saul Rubinek, and Tamara Tunie

Although I was hot to see it when it was first released, I finally watched director Oliver Stone’s Wall Street – 23 years after it debuted in theatres. The film, which follows a young stockbroker’s adventures with an immoral corporate raider, is certainly one of Stone’s most popular films.

Wall Street opens in 1985, as Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a junior stockbroker (salesman) at Jackson Steinem & Co., struggles to get out of a rut and make it big. Fox wants to become involved with his hero, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), the corporate raider and Wall Street player who is legendary for both his ruthlessness and his success. Bud’s father, Carl (Martin Sheen), an airline maintenance worker and union president, inadvertently provides his son with the information that captures Gekko’s interest. Gekko takes on Bud as a kind of apprentice and co-conspirator and helps him to become wealthy. Bud also gets a new girlfriend, an interior decorator named Darien (Daryl Hannah), a close friend of Gekko’s. Bud, however, begins to lose himself the deeper he goes in with Gekko.

Michael Douglas’ performance as Gordon Gekko is one of the best of the last quarter of the 20th century. Simply, it is magnificent. It is hard to believe that at the time of the film, Douglas was apparently considered a mediocre actor – more of a film producer than a performer. In Douglas’ hands, Gekko not only personifies “Wall Street greed,” but also the nature of greed and the competitive urge in humanity. Douglas as Gekko could make you think the phrase, “tour de force,” was created specifically to describe such an awesome and awe-inspiring performance. Like Raging Bull, Wall Street is a movie that enters the rarefied air of remarkable dramatic films made important because of great performances by lead actors.

Still, Wall Street is not completely about Michael Douglas. Charlie Sheen’s stiff-acting style actually makes Bud Fox the perfect dupe/foil for Gekko. Sheen’s (then) exceedingly fresh-looking baby face embodies America’s youth (relatively speaking), and his facial expressions are all about lust for success and money. At other times, Sheen depicts in Fox that inherent guilt that keeps our gluttony and baser appetites in check, for the most part.

Oliver Stone even draws out Wall Street’s religious subtext in scenes where the devilish Gekko mentors (or tempts) Fox on how to get ahead the unethical and illegal way. Stone and Douglas are quite good at presenting their vision of greed. Wall Street makes it look sexy – as if greed were really good, as Gekko says in his legendary monologue. Wall Street is still fantastic, and it may make you remember just how good Stone and Douglas were when they were at the top of their respective games.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Michael Douglas)

1988 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Michael Douglas)

1988 Razzie Awards: 1 win: “Worst Supporting Actress” (Daryl Hannah)

Monday, December 20, 2010

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Review: Original "Predator" Still a Thrill

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Predator (1987)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
DIRECTOR: John McTiernan
WRITERS: Jim Thomas and John Thomas
PRODUCERS: John Davis, Lawrence Gordon, and Joel Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald McAlpine (director of photography)
EDITORS: Mark Helfrich and John F. Link
COMPOSER: Alan Silvestri

ACTION/SCI-FI with elements of horror and thriller

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, R.G. Armstrong, Shane Black, and Kevin Peter Hall

A favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger film is the action movie classic, Predator. The film also introduced moviegoers to the talents of director John McTiernan, who would go on to make a name for himself in big action thrillers featuring lone, tough guy heroes like Die Hard and mega flops like Medicine Man and The Last Action Hero. As much as this is considered a Schwarzenegger film, McTiernan put his stamp on Predator by creating not only good action and fights scenes, but also by creating a palatable air of mystery and suspense to the proceedings. He only let the audience see just enough to keep their appetites going before he finally opens the film up for the big throw down between Arnold and The Predator.

The story is simple. A team of commandos led by Major Dutch (Schwarzenegger) go on a mission in the jungles of Central America for a government operative (Carl Weathers) with whom Dutch has a history. The story behind the mission turns out to be a sham. Worse, an extra-terrestrial warrior (Kevin Peter Hall) is hunting the team and picking them off one at a time.

Like Aliens, Predator would go on to influence a generation of comic book creators, game designers, and sci-fi novelists who became enamored with commando units and assorted military special operatives. Many super hero comics and violent video games feature Navy S.E.A.L.s, marine units, and heavily armed soldiers fighting monsters and sundry creatures from other worlds.

But don’t hold that against it. Predator is a good time – a great popcorn movie for the guys. It’s an effective thriller, a textbook example of a simple-minded, macho action movie that works so well. Heck, I’ve seen it countless times.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Joel Hynek, Robert M. Greenberg, Richard Greenberg, and Stan Winston)

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Review: "Near Dark" is a Unique Vampire Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Near Dark (1987)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow
WRITERS: Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red
PRODUCER: Steven-Charles Jaffe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg
EDITOR: Howard E. Smith

HORROR

Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson, Joshua John Miller, and Marcie Leeds

Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), an innocent Texas country boy encounters a mysterious beautiful girl named Mae (Jenny Wright) one dark summer night. A night of kissing and necking turns weird when Mae bites Caleb. When the first rays of morning arrive, Caleb discovers that the sunlight burns his skin. Before long, the girl returns with her “family,” a band of outlaws, and kidnaps Caleb, but these aren’t just any outlaws. They’re a vicious pack of vampire drifters, and Mae has seduced Caleb into their hellish lowlife of murderous mayhem and ceaseless evil. Led by a soulless murder named Jessie Hooker (Lance Henriksen), who claims to have fought in the Civil War, these killers sate their bloodlust in the most brutal fashion. Now, Caleb’s father, Loy (Tim Thomerson), and young sister, Sarah (Marcie Leeds), travel across the dusty heart of the American southwest looking for him, but will his new “family” let him leave.

The bankruptcy of its distributor assured that Near Dark would flop at the box office. However, its subsequent release on VHS introduced many to what remains one of the most original vampires movies. Director/co-writer Kathryn Bigelow and co-writer Eric Red originally conceived this film as a Western, and it also retains some of that flavor. There aren’t any great performances, although Bill Paxton brings an air of fun to this gruesome narrative as the gleeful killer, Severen.

What is memorable is Near Dark’s gritty realism, jagged pace, its thick layered nights, the raw gun violence, and how Bigelow makes the sun seem so darn terrifying every time it comes roaring back to dispel the inky blackness of night. Although the film never uses the word “vampire,” Near Dark stands as a unique treatment of the vampire story. Those final images of Jesse and his down-and-dirty lover, Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), burning in their funeral pyre are fine art.

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, April 22, 2007

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Review: "The Lost Boys" is Eternally Youthful and Forever a Winner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 142 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lost Boys (1987)
Opening date: July 31, 1987
Running time: 97 minutes
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Joel Schumacher
WRITERS: Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam, story by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias
PRODUCER: Harvey Bernhard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Chapman
EDITOR: Robert Brown

HORROR/COMEDY

Starring: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Edward Herrmann, Bernard Hughes, Kiefer Sutherland, and Dianne Wiest, Jamison Newlander, Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, Alex (Alexander) Winter, and Chance Michael Corbitt

“Sleep all day. Party all night. It’s fun to be a vampire.” was the tagline to The Lost Boys, a Joel Schumacher film that heavily re-imagines J.M. Barrie’s classic play and novel, Peter Pan. The film was a minor hit back when it was released in 1987, but the film has become even more popular (even a kind of cult hit) through its release on home video and later DVD, and its numerous appearances on various cable TV channels. The Lost Boys also cleverly tweaks and twists some classic vampire myths, folklore, and legends – including some that were invented by Hollywood.

Financial troubles force recent divorcee Lucy Emerson (Dianne Wiest) and her two teenage sons, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam Emerson (Corey Haim), to move to Santa Carla, CA (actually filmed in Santa Cruz, CA) to live with her father (Bernard Hughes). At first, her younger son, Sam laughs off the rumors of vampires in Santa Carla that he hears from the two brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan Frog, (Jamison Newlander) who run their parents comic book shop on the Santa Carla Boardwalk. However, when Michael starts acting strange (stays out all night, sleeps all day, and tries to attack Sam) and showing classic signs of vampirism, Sam joins forces with the Frog Brothers to find and destroy the head vampire, which she free Michael of the vampire’s curse. Meanwhile, Michael has fallen for a half-vampire teenager named Star (Jami Gertz) and promises to help her and half-vampire boy, Laddie Thompson (Chance Michael Corbitt), for whom she cares. He’s also fallen in with a quartet of brash, teen vampires led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland).

I’ve seen The Lost Boys so many times, and I’m such a big fan that I don’t know if I can fairly review it for a viewer who hasn’t seen it. Heck, I’d recommend it to anybody. What do I like about it? Hmmm, where to start? It’s a fun, comic horror film, and puts a hip, cool spin on vampires – as they relate to Hollywood productions. It was not quite an MTV-type movie, but it did tap into the early to mid-80’s youth, cultural zeitgeist, if only to get some nice establishing shots of Santa Carla’s youth. Tapping into the style of young people in the mid-80’s also resulted in some flashy costumes of The Lost Boys’ teen characters. Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Jamison Newlander looked as if they’d step off the set of a Lionel Richie video (for either of the songs “All Night Long” or “Dancing on the Ceiling”). Jami Gertz and the Lost Boys (even the little half-vampire boy, Laddie) have mounds of big hair to go with the puffy shirts, faux Pirates of Penzance costumes, and Amadeus-vomit-leather ensembles. Somehow, it all looks and feels right – especially the handsome and alluring Kiefer Sutherland who plays a kind of teen rebel/pied piper vampire. He’s the real Peter Pan in this Lost Boys set.

As far as the filmmaking goes: Thomas Newman’s score is a smooth, crisp, and tight suite of music to suggest creepiness. The rewrites that director Joel Schumacher demanded of the original script (and likely done by Jeffrey Boam) turned the story into a tight little thriller with a slight fairy tale feel to it. Once upon a time, two boys and their mother moved to a town of vampires… and everybody was hip, cool, and now.

8 of 10
A

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