The Craft (1996)

You know....the more I think about what I am doing here the more I realize what I am actually doing.  I am given you ideas of what to watch tonight.  Or what to watch some other night.  Looking through Netflix, the channel guide on the TV (does TV Guide even publish a listing anymore?) or wherever else I watch video content, there is just so much to choose from that have some sort of idea of what to take a look at just might help.  I am sure other people are doing this as well, but are they going back in time and reminding you what was fun to watch.

The Craft hit theaters in 1996.  Was not received well.  The box office take barely covered the budget for the film.  For me, however, I enjoyed this film.  First, Catholic girl skirts.  Yes, I am overly male sometimes.  Close to 20 years ago, what do you want from me?

Next, the cast was actually really good.  There was a wonderful chemistry among the coven and they played off each other extremely well.  Now, if you want to be nit picky, you could say that he story was weak.  What I felt was weak was the special effects.  But it was 1996.  What we are use to now is light years away from where special effects were in 1996.

This movie is on Netflix and I think it is a lot of fun.  High school girls dealing in forces that really shouldn't and then going after someone that can harness the power?  I think if you watch this film with low expectations that you will be pleasantly surprised.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV 1997-2003)

I know.  This is not a movie.  The show started out as one and I thought the movie was horrible and cheesy and a giant waste of time.  That being said, the TV show made up for it.  And I thought that I would throw in some of my favorite TV shows on this blog as well. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer hit TV back in 1997.  For me, I was hooked.  The dialog was clever.  The acting was good.  The cast had great chemistry.  The only draw back was that the make up was not the best, but the fight scenes kind of made up for that.

The reason I write this is I really wanted to focus on three episodes that should have won Emmys, but were never nominated.  Or at least should have given nominations for performances.  First is Hush.  Mid season 4, Sunnyvale loses its voice.  Literally the whole town cannot speak.  So, for about 20 or so minutes of screen time the cast does not speak to each other.  Was very interesting to see how the group would communicate.  Secrets were revealed and awkwardness came about after the baddies were eliminated.

Next in season 5, The Body.  This episode was brilliant.  If you really listen, you will realize that there is no background music at all through the entire episode.  Buffy finds her mom dead in the house and how the group handles the death is on full display.  The performances on this episode are the best throughout the series.

Finally, season 6.  Once More With Feeling... This is the musical episode.  Again, brilliant. The singing performances are decent enough that you don't really want to turn it off.  This is a big reveal for the storyline as well.  Near the end of the episode Buffy lets the group know something that stuns everyone.  For those that have scene it, you know what I am talking about.  For those who haven't, get Netflix and watch the entire series.  Especially season 5.  There is context that you need to understand the reveal.

The entire series is done incredibly well.  Does not really stand the test of time, but if there were to give it a reboot I am sure improvements can be made. 

Krull (1983)

The next few posts will be all about the movies I would live to see remade.  The reason is that the effects of the day were not all that great and I feel that the current technology will make what was a cult film more widely appreciated.

The first is Krull.  This film hit theaters in 1983.  The audience was the scifi fantasy geeks like me and did not do all that well.  The thing is when the film was syndicated on TV and the pay channels the viewership was pretty good. 

I really enjoyed this film.  The story has great potential and the action had great potential as well.  With a complete redesign of the various environments, make-up and stunts, I think this film could do a killing at the box office.  I even think they could pull this off with the exact same dialog. 

Krull stars Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony.  Krull also happens to be the first movie Liam Neeson appears in.

Now I have to ask those 5 people that will read this post...Do you think Krull could do well with a remake?

Final Fantasy VII: Avent Children (2005)

As I have mentioned before, I am an animation fan.  Can't help it.  I am an adult and I still like watching cartoons.  Especially due to the fact that animation in whatever form it is allows for so much more spectacular story telling and effects.  Live action is catching up, but when it has come to super heroes and the sci-fi/fantasy world nothing beats animation.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is based of the video game franchise of the same name.  I was a bit distracted today, but this one was kind of a disappointment.  The story was a bit fragmented and was hard to follow.  Some of the story elements were kept in the dark about until the end.  Even then I was confused.

I action was fun although seemed a bit repetitive.  Multiple motorcycle chases and battles that seemed to be pretty much the same sequence each time.  The final battle was cool though.

Watched this particular version with English subtitles and that could have been a part of the problem as well. Anyway, the main reason I watched this one was due to my enjoyment of the 2001 release of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.  The version of that film that I watched was in English and I felt that the storyline was much better and easier to follow.  There were times with Advent Children that I was just confused as to what the objective was.

Watched on Netflix.  You might like this you might not.  There are some good fight scenes.  I could be wrong about my assessment, but just not really thrilled about this film.

Red Dawn (2012)

Way back in 1984 a movie came out that played into the psyche of the time.  Red Dawn placed a band of high school kids against the Cuban and Russian armies attempting to invade the USA.  Everyone I knew at the time could not get enough on that film.  In the theater, on TV when it was replayed and renting at the local video store.  Two years ago, they decided it might be a good idea to remake Red Dawn.  This time it is the North Koreans invading the USA with a tiny bit of help from the Russians.

There are a couple key plot lines that were kept.  The drinking of the deer's blood and Darryl leading the Russian forces to the group's location.  This time both scenes are under different circumstances and results.

The actors did the best they could with the script they were given.  The action sequences were a lot of fun to watch.  However, the overall story line does not play well.  A massive power outage turns out to be the way to get into the USA without being seen way ahead of time?  Yeah, not so much.  And the North Koreans do not have the resources to make an invasion like that happen.

All that aside, if you see it on Netflix or one of the pay channels, sit down and watch the film.  You just might enjoy it if you are not expecting much.  I will say this.  There is a scene that did take me quite by surprise. 

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

If you have not figured things out yet, Netflix is my friend.  When Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow came out ten years ago it got panned pretty bad.  In my opinion, I have a feeling that many of the reviewers really didn't know what they were dealing with.

Here is what I mean.  The movie is darkly lit.  It has a film noir feel to it because of how darkly lit it is.  Plus it is set in the 1940's.  The actors are performing in a similar style as 1940's actors.  And the entire movie is shot with green screen.  If you are not familiar with what green screen is, all the big sets, robots and most everything else is computer generated.  And you can tell.  In the movie's defense, it was one of the first to go entire movie green screen.

I actually like the story.  Kind of cheesy, but that is film noir for you.  I recognized what they were trying to do early and made adjustments for it.  In this film, Angelina Jolie's accent is pretty bad.  Usually when she does Brit the accent is more or less believable.  Not this time.  Jude Law is Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow plays the overly curious reporter/damsel in distress.

The rundown is that if you can get past the look of the movie and suspend your disbelief with what you are looking at in regard to the story, you could enjoy this film.  If you have Netflix and have not seen the film yet, give it a shot.  You might be surprised.  Or I am completely wrong and the film will suck.  Either way, and this is for the guys and maybe some girls, looking at Jolie in tight leather is not a bad thing.

Lauren Bacall (1924-2014)

Lauren Bacall passed away yesterday (August 12, 2014) just about one month shy of her 90th birthday.  Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske September 16, 1924 in New York City.  Her career spanned over 70 years.  Her early work includes Key Largo (1948) and The Big Sleep (1946).  Her co-star just happened to be the man she would marry, Humphrey Bogart.  She was married to Bogart until his death in 1957.

Bacall was the quintessential beauty of the golden age of film.  She started her career as a model as a teenager.  Then went on to study acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1941.  One of her classmates happened to be Kirk Douglas.  Her first acting gig was a Broadway walk on role in 1942.

Her list of credits is long and illustrious.  And she was working till the day she died.  Most recently she did work on the animated show "The Family Guy" and was rumored to be cast in the film "Trouble is My Business."

Lauren Bacall is a true icon of film and television.  Thank Ms. Bacall for your legacy.