Subject: Triffids and Dr. Who
Date: Mon, 02 May 2005
From: Mary Bergman
I was a little surprised in your review of Day of the Triffids, that with the Dr. Who references (Triffids as vegetable Daleks), you neglected to mention one (mildly)interesting bit of casting. The blind-since-birth French girl (who’s character name I can’t remember for the life of me, it has been a couple of years since I last watched this) is played by Carol Anne Ford, who would soon go on to portray the Doctor’s very first companion, his Granddaughter Susan. This role is probably what lead to her being cast in the long-running series.
I’m not sure if it is scarier that I know this, or that my husband and 3 year old son spent yesterday morning building Tinkertoy Daleks before church.
Yes, that was an egregious oversight on my part. I guess I have to leave SOME of the obvious comments for other reviewers, right?
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: “Signs” review
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005
From: Matt ShepherdThe whole movie kind of rocks if you realize that it was all a dream concocted by Mel to parse through his faith crisis following the death of his wife. His coping is filtering the whole deal through the alien-invasion movies he saw as a kid … when hordes of aliens would come to earth to wander around aimlessly, get improbably beaten up, and succumb to stupid stuff like water and bacteria.
It works. It’s kind of cheap, admittedly, but it works.
Wow. I like it. Maybe Mel Gibson’s character is the kid from the original Invaders From Mars, all grown up.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Zarkorr/Zontarr
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005
From: jaredHey, it seems like in your review of Zarkorr! The Invader, at some point you start calling him Zontarr. Not that it matters, i’m sure they just make those names by rolling Boggle cubes then adding some extra “Z”s or “X”s..
I saw Zarkor! about 3-4 years ago, i remember it being a little endearing in its low-budgetness (we became incorrectly convinced that the cop was Quark of DS9). i don’t know if you’ve ever seen SoulTaker (when you hear ‘Starring JOE Estevez’, and it’s co-starring Robert Zdarr, it’s not a great sign), but i have similar irrationally okay feelings about that.
But that might be because Soultaker is by A.I.P. studios, and i always saw trailers for it at the beginning of my Favorite movie, Split (which is a weird little 1989 movie with cool art direction & kind of 2001-esque ‘you never really know quite what went down’ plot. it’s obvious that 2-3 people involved had some artistic leanings, both the story & the paintings that show up in it are pretty neat.)
Thanks for the heads-up on Zontarr/Zarkorr; I caught myself once or twice, but didn’t think to double-check.
Soultaker is interesting — a noble failure, I guess, with a good idea buried by a lack of skill in developing a story. I’m glad I saw it before it appeared on MST3K; it was much easier to respect without the ‘bots.
I haven’t seen Split yet, but it is on the list of 11,000+ movies to see and review.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Signs
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005
From: ToddI agree with your review of the movie signs. I didn’t particularly care for this movie …. Okay, I thought it blew.
But if it weren’t for signs, we wouldn’t have had such good material for Scary Movie 3, so I suppose everything evens out in the end.
Wait — does that prove the thesis that everything, even the movie Signs, has a purpose? Egads!
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: cold fusion
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005
From: Raymond FlowersAnyone ever seen cold fusion, it’s when scientist are made to set up a scam to waste their time and it is made real by Russian intelligence which LIDARs the mess to produce a burst of energy. It was originally developed as a means of providing limited power to thrird world countries and the cold fusion experiment was a demonstration to BATF carried out using sudio suggestion against the scientists.
Uh, yeah. My site is about movies. Maybe you’ve heard of them.
Nathan
Subject: I was wondering…
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005
From: Ryan J. KennerI was wondering if you planned on reviewing I Come In Peace for the Alien Invasion binge. It’s actually pretty decent.
Also have you ever thought of a killer robot binge. I would love to see a review for the awful Class Of 1999 II:THE SUBSTITUTE.
Anyway have a good one
Ryan
Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to fit I Come In Peace in for this one. But be of good cheer, there IS a Killer Robot category on my list of future binges.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Phonecards
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005
From: diacondanielHi !
I’m interest by your ship, bridges and sea light phonecards from japan and other countries.
Let me know what are you interest? I can offer you any Romanian phonecards and other European phonecards.
Best regards
Dan
Daniel, please read the site. I am not interested in trading or adding to my collection. These are the cards I collected while living in Japan for two years, and they have great sentimental value to me.
Nathan
Subject: The Guyver 2
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005
From: Cyblade SilverIf you hated the first movie, (god knows I did) I think you’ll like this one a fair bit more. You might not want to take my word for it, so here: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/guyver2.php
As luck would have it, I just picked up a cheap copy of the second one a couple of weeks ago. Which guarantees I’ll definitely get to it… someday.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: DotT review
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005
From: Michael Toland
Hey. I read with interest your review of the Day of the Triffids film. I read the novel a few months ago and really enjoyed it, and wondered if the flick would be worth tracking down. Unsurprisingly, the filmmakers made hash of the novel’s plot, so I don’t think I’ll bother. I do, however, want to recommend that you read the book if you can find a copy. It’s a pretty good thriller, with a plot that’s much closer to that of 28 Days Later than to the movie it spawned.
Keep up the good work. Reading your stuff is always a highlight of my Thursday.
Michael
I’ve had a copy of the novel on my shelf for about ten years; someday I’ll have to get around to reading it. (It’s right next to The Chrysalids, which I also haven’t read.)
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Psycho Santa nitpick
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 From: Jason SartinFine review (as usual), except for one little bit I’d like to comment on:
“And if he refuses to believe you, you’re under no obligation to prevent him from drinking and driving.”
So, gotten any lectures from any MADD or PC types about your obligation to whatever poor victims he might crash into yet? It seems inevitable…
Nah. People that responsible don’t read my site.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Does Carl Jr.’s count?
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2005
From: Tony OsioEvery few months, I do a Google search on my film and occasionally come across a link that grabs my attention. An email in your mailbag from tws@spacestar.net on December 28th of last year did just that. I didn’t mind the extensive critique of the film. But the last paragraph was jusr off base enough that it needed a reply.
For simplicity’s sake, here’s the paragraph:
“Well, I suppose there is something that I find amusing about this whole thing. A man calling himself Tony Osio claims to be the Executive Producer for this crap, and he tears apart anyone who blasts his movie on the message boards of IMDB. He defends this movie as being made for a narrow audience. Must have been 12 year olds, since who else finds fart and masturbation jokes every 7 minutes or so entertaining? If your claim to fame is the Executive Producer of crap like this, perhaps you should seek other more fulfilling employment …
Like running the fryer at Hardees.”
My thoughts:
– I don’t tear apart anyone who blasts my movie on the IMDB message boards. Simply put, the movie’s official website does not have a message board section. Therefore, I chose to reply to both positive and negative comments on the IMDB boards. I haven’t posted there since August: about 4 months before this guy sent you an email.
– Yes, part of my defense of the movie is the narrow audience. But that’s not all. We are also very upfront about what the movie is beforehand. The IMDB listing has over 20 user comments (mostly negative), 20 external review links (mostly positive), a trailer link, and the official website link. On our website are 9 clips from the film. It’s not your fan’s fault, but I’m convinced that if he saw all of this, he wouldn’t have rented the film.
– I didn’t know Joe Bob Briggs was 12 years old: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=04042002-044350-6523r
– The Hardee’s line was funny.
If after viewing the clips and comments on the film you decide to review it, I’ll look forward to reading your thoughts. Even if the thoughts are in 2027 after reaching my film at 11,000th on your list.
Tony Osio
Executive Producer and Fry Cook
“Cheerleader Ninjas”
Having not seen the movie yet, I have no personal stake in the discussion, but I’ll post your letter in the mailbag to even up the google odds.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Thanks for the vocab boost
Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2005
From: Steven OYour coinage of “enblanden” has embiggened my word-hoard.
I’m using it all the time!
Thanks!
Just remember where you heard it when the Merriam Webster committee comes a-calling, okay?
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: The Land That Time Forgot
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005
From: Ayellete RavivLong Ago, people did expect the technology to look real, they didn’t realize, that those technnologies look fake, today proves how wrong they were.
The Movies have to make sense, and the kids of today aren’t danmed, it’s fun to watch, but not too fun, today’s movies are much more enjoyable and better
Today’s technology may provide better fakes, but they’re still just AS fake, unless you’re one of those who can’t identify most CGI shots at twenty paces.
I would dispute the idea that “today’s movies are much more enjoyable and better” as a blanket assertion. There are good movies and bad movies in all eras, and while there are certainly movies today which are more enjoyable than The Land That Time Forgot (heck, there were movies THEN which were more enjoyable than The Land That Time Forgot), I don’t see that as sufficient ground to declare the wholesale primacy of one cinematic era over another.
Nathan
Subject: Samurai Reincarnation
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005
From: suziJust read the review, having already seen the DVD version I am so glad not to have accidentally happened on the VHS!
Just a note to let you know, in case you didn’t, that Jubei, his dad and a couple of other siblings were chronicled by Chiba in a Japanese series called Yagyu Conspiracy. If not for my mom’s obsessive love of Japanese culture and Los Angeles’ Asian channels, I’d never have heard of it either. Good stuff, (although a bit “Who with the what now?” complicated as Japanese feudal dramas are wont to be) with loads of Sonny doing what Sonny do best – including an episode with a single shot 5 minute swordfight around the edges of a courtyard.
(BTW, do you think Tarantino may have gotten part of idea for The Bride’s new sword acquisition in Kill Bill from Reincarnation? (I know, Chiba played a historical Hattori too, but…)
If you can ever find a copy of the undubbed series, and you have some time, I’d recommend it (the IMDB entry just takes you to the “movie-ized” version).
Great review! Thanks!
One of these days I’m going to put myself through a full “jidaigeki” immersion course, so I’ll put the Yagyu Conspiracy at the top of the list. Thanks.
Nathan
Subject: Just got back from SLC
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005
From: Jim GosneyNathan, I was out in your neck of the woods last week. I went out to Brainshare. Complements on a very nice city. It was my first time to SLC and the scenery is beautiful (at least what little part of it I saw). Of course, it rained/snow every single day I was there (I thought the desert was supposed to be dry), I was hit up by more than one pan-handler, and I fully believe that SLC has some of the most inconsiderate drivers in the world. But other than that, I loved it :)
No — really — I had a great time in SLC and look forward to coming back next year. As a whole, the people were extremely friendly and accomodating. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to pick up on my extremely slight southern accent.
The gem of the trip was finding that little bookstore on Main Street — “Sam Wellers”. VERY NICE. I could has spent the entire day in there.
You’ve live in a wonderful town.
Thank you kindly (though it’s not like I can take credit for it).
And I’m glad you had a chance to visit Sam Weller’s, the Center of the Known Universe.
Nathan
Subject: “Ascend” review
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005
From: Royce DayFrom the sounds of your review, this book might owe a bit to Steve Jackson Games’ “In Nomine” RPG (which Shy contributed artwork to), as well as the Prophecy flicks.
Personally I think Shy’s work is better seen in illustraions of horror games, where all the murkiness works best. When SJGames, in their infinite wisdom, used him to illustrate their hard-science sci-fi RPG “Transhuman Space“, the decision was justifiably booed.
So Ascend is doubly unoriginal. Thanks for the tidbit.
Nathan
Subject: Shunned House Review
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005
From: lallen4I gotta disagree with your review of “The Shunned House.” I really liked the movie. I’ve been doing a horror marathon this week (such are the spring breaks of the socially impaired,) and picked this particular film up because I’ve always had a thing for Lovecraft. Oddly enough, this movie affected me more than several classics I watched, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho.
The accents did make the movie slightly tougher going (especially with the bizzare lack of english subtitles,) but the rest of the film struck me as brilliant. I loved the color, composition, strange visual effects, new ending for the Eric Zann story (the woman trying to play her own tendons is a genuinely disturbing image,) and bizzarely nightmarish atmosphere. I also thought that the ending was excellent (although I wish the lady had said “Welcome home” in english instead of french.) Oddly enough, I also found the Eric Zann music to be the least effective thing in the movie, although, to be fair, I must point out that I’m vaguely tone-deaf.
Yours Etc.,
Lawrence
P.S. I have no idea why I bothered sending you my dissenting opinion.
No, don’t apologize for dissent. I agree with many of the things you said — color, composition, visual effects (the woman beating her head bloody on the wall stuck with me) and all that. I think it just points to a difference in value judgments.
For me, story is the raison d’etre of a movie, and all a filmmaker’s tools are the medium for communicating the story — thus, if I think that the story wasn’t communicated effectively, then the artistic strengths of the director can actually become demerits; a director has to be absolutely brilliant for his cinematics to make up for mishandled dramatics in my book (like, say, Tetsuo: The Iron Man).
That’s probably why I don’t worship a lot of the cult Italian directors through the 1960s through 1980s; they were visual stylists for whom story came second, if that.
I agree that Ivan Zuccon shows some incredible directorial instincts. If he were to team up a screenwriter of comparable brilliance, the result could be an uncontested classic.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Shapeshifter
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005
From: James W. FryYou know, Nathan, that writing an internet review column carries with it certain hazards. It would not surprise me (nor you, I imagine) to learn that many of your readers are, like myself, obsessive-compulsive freakazoids with too much free time on their hands. That said, when you joked, in your review of Shapeshifter, about how many degrees separated co-star Emanuelle Vaugier from Kevin Bacon—I –couldn’t help myself. God help me, I Had To Check!
Not many degrees difference, it turns out. Ms. Vaugier had a small part in the film Secondhand Lions, which also featured Kyra Sedgwick. Ms. Sedgwick , of course, co-starred with husband Kevin Bacon in 2004’s The Woodsman. And suddenly I have a horrible, horrible understanding of all those characters I’ve seen in monster movies this past few decades, driven to harm others by some ghastly compulsion they can neither comprehend nor resist.
Pray for me, Nathan.
Pray for me.
Oh, BTW, great site!
JWF3.0
I cannot, in good conscience, pray for you; you’re already too far gone for that.
However, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of Cold Fusion Media Central, I can offer you a ham sandwich. Close enough?
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Jack and the Witch
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005
From: John LopezSomeone should get a hold of Peter Jackson and send him a copy of the video so that he can put King Kong on the back burner. It would be wonderful if he could direct a live action movie of this animation classic. KCOP13 here in L.A. would show this movie in the 70’s and I remember how it was way ahead of its time.
Yeah, but the whole production would hinge on finding an actress for Allegra who could inject just the right amount of adorable pathos under the cackling wickedness in her voice.
(One of my first childhood crushes was a cartoon. How sad is that?)
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Samurai Reincarnation
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005
From: Jason Otting (Mr. Paradox)I remember renting this film from Hollywood Video and thinking, “Sonny Chiba? This should be good.”
And as it turned out, I was right. And your review mostly hit it spot-on.
I should note that Amakusa has gotten the full demonization treatment from the Japanese, similar to how they now view Nobunaga Oda. In addition to being the villain in Samurai Reincarnation, Amakausa is also the final boss in the video game Samurai Shodown. (You want fast-and-loose with history? That game has two Americans… but it’s set in the Edo period.)
In closing, I love this site.
Yup. Most DVD covers trumpet the fact that this movie was the basis for Samurai Showdown, but at least there weren’t gaijins running around Japan in Samurai Reincarnation.
A little googling while I was checking out background info showed that there’s at least one visitor center-type thing dedicated to reclaiming the memory of Amakusa Shiro.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: About your review for Creepy Tales
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005
From: eddie_the_head29Hey Nathan, I post over at B-Indie too, and I read your review on Creepy Tales. You were right on the money about it that the stories weren’t that great and that they were just set-ups for an event to take place within the segments. Also, I know James Eisenfeld who played Monsignor Duran, I work with him. I told him about the review and what you said about the “shoe polish” in his hair and he laughed, he said during the making of the movie everyone was drunk, especially the Professor, he kept getting drunker when he was drinking the wine in his scenes.
Hee hee. Thanks for sharing.
Nathan
Subject: related to “Pigs Don’t Fly”
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005
From: Ronald
Hi. I’m a regular reader of your site, and I thought I’d drop you a line to let you know that “Pigs Don’t Fly” is actually sort of an (IMHO) inferior pastiche of the author’s earlier and somewhat darker and more mature book “The Unlikely Ones.” That one also features an “ugly duckling” heroine, a knight in need, and several animal friends (even up to including one magical one; I don’t remember another author who imitated herself quite this much), but, unlike “Pigs Don’t Fly,” the background is more complex, all of the animals actually participate in the plot, and the stakes are somewhat more serious (It also benefits from being longer and thus having more space to contain all of this.). I won’t go into any more detail except to tell you that the kind of “twist” toward the end of “Pigs Don’t Fly” is entirely absent. If you thought “Pigs Don’t Fly” was okay, you’ll almost certainly think “The Unlikely Ones” is quite good.
Thanks for your time. Keep up the good work.
Thanks. I saw the laudatory quotes for her previous book inside Pigs Don’t Fly, although I automatically look askance at anything touted as “reminiscent of such classics as Tolkien’s ‘Rings’ cycle.” I suppose if I ever run across it for as cheap as I picked up Pigs, I’ll pick it up.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: A Dilemma
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005
From: Captain BlackbeardDear Mr. Shumate,
I was given Last Line Of Defence (Interceptor Force) and Armageddon (Red Line) as a present. They both look crap but I kinda feel I have to watch at least one.
So …. assuming you can remember either of these pieces of dross – which one do I watch ?
Captain Blackbeard
Of the two, I would recommend Interceptor Force more. Both are stupid, but Interceptor Force is at least goofy; Red Line is just depressingly boring.
Nathan
Subject: Jack and the Witch
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005
From: ChrisTHANK YOU!!!
Like you, I too had dim childhood memories of Jack and the Witch, but couldn’t put a name to it at the time and when describing it to others just got funny looks in return. At last I know that I didn’t imagine it all during a Christmas in the early 70’s as well.
Thank you, you’ve answered a question that has nagged me for nearly 30 years.
Welcome to the International Brother/Sisterhood of Juvenile “Jack and the Witch” Exposees.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: dig the site
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005
From: RyanHEY THERE,
I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING PARTICULARLY INTERESTING OR WITTY TO SAY, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I DIG THE SITE. MY BUDDIES AND I HAVE BEEN BAD MOVIES FANATICS SINCE WE WERE ITTY BITTY CHILDREN AND, AS I’M SURE YOU KNOW, AFTER A WHILE YOU RUN OUT OF STUFF TO RENT. WE STUMBLED ACROSS THIS WEBSITE AND IT HAS PROVEN TO BE A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR US IN OUR PURSUIT OF NEW GARBAGE TO WATCH (MINDWARP IS ONE OF OUR NEW FAVORITES). WE’RE TRYING TO COMBINE BRAIN POWER AND BUILD A BAD MOVIE WEBSITE OF OUR VERY OWN, BUT THE FACT THAT WE ARE ALL MORONS MAKES THINGS DIFFICULT. ALRIGHT, I WON’T TAKE UP ANY MORE OF YOUR TIME, THE JIST OF IT IS, I LOVE THE SITE AND APPRECIATE THE IN DEPTH REVIEWS SO KEEP ON TRUCKIN’! WOW, DID I JUST SAY “KEEP ON TRUCKIN’”? I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
RYAN
Thanks for the encouragement, and the truckin’ shall indeed continue.
(I don’t know how you can run out of things to rent, though — they keep making bad movies faster than I can watch ‘em.)
Nathan
Subject: Serial killers and clues
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005
From: Jim RobertsIn your review for Split Second, you asked whether serial killers have a “Riddler gene” that forces them to leave behind strange clues for investigators.
First of all, that made me laugh, as your reviews always do. Keep up the good work.
Secondly, yes, many serial killers of the sociopathic variety really do leave behind clues for the police. Sometimes it’s part of their signature, the way they like to kill, but often it’s because they believe themselves smarter than the police (and they often are), and are baiting them with clues.
For a lot of serials, the murders aren’t about the violence or the sexual assault or anything, they’re about degradation and control, and giving the authority figures clues that they can’t figure out makes them look stupid and puts the killer in charge of the investigation.
While the cockamamie occult symbols in Split Second are a bit beyond the pale, the signatures of some serials are nearly as ornate.
All of this is true, but it’s a detail that seems more like an obligatory plot element here, added simply because it was seen in other movies. It’s not like the killer here fits the normal serial killer pattern in any other regard — he’s an invulnerable polymorphic occultist killing by moonphase to draw an astrological symbol across the city. Not exactly the textbook FBI profile.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Barbarian Brothers article
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
From: WillGreat site. I love the review of The Barbarian Brothers’ movie.
There’s a really funny article about The Barbarian Brothers at:
http://www.robbloom.com/creative/barbarian.htm
Check it out!
Hee hee! A great overview of two distinguished careers. Thanks.
Nathan
Subject: its a small world
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005
From: Squeeits interesting hows often a coincedents occurs, a few years back, i was searching for some mormon band named “Cold Fusion” on google. i accidentally found your website and it happens to be a badass review site… and you happen to be an LDS guy who loves b-movies (i thought i was the only one out there)… i noticed in your Demonic Toys review that you used to go to Sounds Easy video to look for b-movies while you waited for your pizza… thats exactly what i did in american fork when i was little. i ordered at “Pony Express” pizza and walked a few doors down to Sounds Easy to find “Critters 1&2” or any other creature flick there… its great to know that there is another mormon dude out there that loves scarey movies, cause’ there sure isnt any in AF…
Keep up the badass reviews,
Squee
Thanks, Squee. You’ll be happy to know that Gerry at http://www.scifilm.org and Allen at http://www.b-independent.com are both Mormons as well. I think it safe to say that we outnumber the Jehovah’s Witness segment of the B-movie reviewing field, anyway.
Nathan
Subject: REVIEW OF DAWN OF THE DEAD
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005
From: GARYHELLO,
FIRST OF ALL MOUNTAIN DEW IS SISSY WATER LOL JUST KIDDING.SECOND YOU HAVE NO CLUE OF WHAT A GOOD HORROR MOVIE IS. I’M 44 YEARS OLD AND I’VE SEEN & OWN ABOUT EVERY HORROR FLIX THERE IS. I DON’T CARE MUCH FOR ROGER EBERT’S REVIEW OF MOVIES.I THINK WHEN YOU REVIEW A MOVIE YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN-MINDED NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF MOVIE IT IS. BUT FOR ONCE I’D HAVE TO SAY THAT HE CALLED IT RIGHT ABOUT THIS ONE.(TO QUOTE MR.EBERTS WORDS) DAWN OF THE DEAD IS ONE OF THE BEST HORROR FILMS EVER MADE.NOW I’VE SEEN THE 2004 REMAKE RECENTLY AND I’D HAVE TO SAY EVEN THOUGH IT IS A MORE MODERN UP TO DATE VERSION WITH DIFFERENT SCENES,IT DOESN’T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THE 1978 VERSION.ALL MOVIES HAVE THEIR LITTLE QUIRKS IN THE STORY LINES OR PLOTS,BUT ALL IN ALL,FOR ITS TIME PERIOD IT’S ONE OF THE BEST GORE FLIMS EVER MADE.SORRY HOPE YOU DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL BUT I’VE BEEN WATCHING HORROR MOVIES SENSE I WAS THREE YEARS OLD AND I’M ADDICTED TO THEM.OUT OF ALL THE HORROR FILMS I’VE SEEN I’D HAVE TO SAY IT IS THE BEST HORROR FILM THERE IS.DO ME A FAVOR CHECK OUT A MOVIE CALLED BODY PARTS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT,ITS GOT SOME REALLY COOL PARTS IN IT.WELL THANK-YOU FOR YOUR TIME IN READING THIS AND LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE OF YOUR REVIEWS.
Gosh, you’re welcome. I mean, after you tell me that I’m clueless because my opinion differs from yours, why wouldn’t I want to read the rest of your message? And thank you for telling me your age; since older people are always smarter than younger people, it lets me know that your opinion obviously is better than mine. Thank you for straightening me out.
Let’s see if I can turning the favor. See that button on the left side of your keyboard? The one marked “Caps Lock”? See if you can turn it off once in a while. Unless you really meant to be SHOUTING AT ME FOR YOUR ENTIRE MESSAGE.
Nathan
Subject: Blade Runner review
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005
From: rjschwarzI’ve been saying for some time that the Deckard is a replicant idea makes no sense, then I’d lost hope when Ridley Scott said he was, I’m glad someone else agrees the whole thing falls apart that way.
The way I saw the movie was a big question of what does it mean to be human. Deckard, the human in the picture has to be poked and proded to react to anything. He’s got the long life and barely lives it . Compare that to the short lived Replicants that seem to live each moment with energy, emotion, and life.
I felt that was a pretty strong theme and I’m not sure how Ridely Scott got talked into changing things.
The passage of time can do strange things to a director. (See also: Lucas, G. / Spielberg, S.)
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Air-to-air nukes
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005
From: El SantoAbout halfway through your review of INTERCEPTOR FORCE, you express befuddlement at the idea that the movie depicts a squadron of fighters being scrambled to intercept a UFO and attack it with air-to-air nuclear weapons. As it happens, this is one of those cases in which truth is at least as strange as fiction. One of them is no longer in the Air Force inventory and the other never entered front-line service at all, but between the late 1950’s and the mid-1980’s, the US did indeed deploy air-to-air nukes, of two separate series.
The older of the two programs (and the only one that was considered really successful by the military) was called “Genie;” the final version in service was designated AIR-2B (in which “AIR” stands for “Aerial Intercept Rocket”). The Genie was an unguided weapon, which makes a certain amount of sense given its ridiculous surfeit of firepower– after all, when you’re lobbing an atomic warhead at something as fragile as an airplane, you don’t really need to be too picky about hitting the target. In fact, part of the rationale behind the air-to-air nuke was that it could serve as a hedge against the extreme unreliability of the tube-driven homing systems used by first-generation guided missiles, and a common armament configuration for interceptors in the 50’s and 60’s consisted of two heat-seeking missiles, two radar-guided missiles, and one or two Genies. Another reason for giving nukes to interceptors was that it would allow a single fighter to shoot down an entire formation of bombers in one fell swoop. Three factors eventually led to the Genie’s demise. First, solid-state electronics brought about a revolution in reliability, undermining the Genie’s usefulness as a backup to guided weapons. Second, the advent of the intercontinental balistic missile eliminated the need to use hundreds of slow, vulnerable bombers to carry out a large-scale nuclear attack; in the event of an all-out war, there would be no huge, diffuse airborne targets to shoot an unguided nuclear rocket at. Then of course, there was the gradual shift in the way nuclear weapons were perceived by both the public and the military leadership– it was no longer politically acceptable to go waving nukes around willy-nilly in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even so, the Genie hung around longer than might be expected, and the last ones in service were carried by Air National Guard F-106 Delta Darts as recently as 1984.
The other air-to-air nuke was the AIM-47, a development of the long-running Falcon series of guided missiles, and (in airframe at least) the immediate ancestor of the conventionally-armed AIM-54 carried by the F-14 Tomcat today. I’m really not sure what the point of the AIM-47 was supposed to be. Mass attack by manned bombers was already on the way out while it was under development, and it’s difficult to understand the purpose of combining fully active radar guidance with a nuclear warhead in a weapon designed for use against aircraft. A missile that will seek out its target has no apparent need for an A-bomb onboard. In any case, neither of the planes that would have carried the AIM-47 entered production. The F-108 Rapier died when the bomber it was designed to escort proved prohibitively expensive, while the F-12 was a developmental dead-end in the program that eventually produced the SR-71 Blackbird hypersonic spy plane.
And while I’m on the subject of using nukes against airborne targets, I probably ought to mention the Nike Zeus. It was a surface-to-air missile, a bigger, more advanced descendant of the Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules, and its purpose was to shoot down ICBMs during the descent stage of their flight path. The Nike Zeus never entered service either, having been laid to rest by that Anti-Balistic-Missile treaty which our current president would like to pretend we didn’t sign.
See, this is why I really ought not to review military-themed movies; my ignorance goes from a subtle undercurrent to an obtrusive force. Thanks for the info.
Nathan
Subject: The Hitcher and two movie you should reallly review
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005
From: Luke BrintonI rented The Hitcher after your review at my local Family Video(go to one they are packed with pretty muchly cheap b-movies). I was entertained by The Hitcher but sorry I can’t say it was as great as you said. Hauer is great as always but C. Thomas Howell, I can’t say that for him. His acting is only ok. Also Leigh was a pointless character, she was barely in there and suprisingly died. Also everyone in the movie was incredibly stupid, except for Hauer who was extremely smart. Many times for the police officers of Howell I said “Turn around” or “Oh, how stupid can this character get?” to the screen. Also I didn’t get it, did Hauer want to die by Howell?, he gave him all the chances in the world to kill him. Hauer’s character’s intelligence dominated Howell’s, yet Howell won. Also I think it was cool that Hauer was like a killing maching and could kill anyone with anything but killing a whole police station or a prison bus(with no other cars in front or behind, it’s the lone car prison or criminal transport escape sceen like as seen in several movies, I am studying to be a cop and I know someone that dangerous would not be traveling lone) or shooting a chopper down with 5 handgun bullets is stretching it. Enough of the downsides of the movie. Hauer was great as always and was the only thing holding this movie together. Sorry if you liked the film that much, it’s not bad but it’s not great either. Also most importantly over the past few months I got off Ebay two rare 80s’ horror/science fiction movies. One entitled The Pit and one The Quiet Earth. The Pit is about a problem kid, autistic I think, with a talking teddy bear(whether it talks or it’s just his crazy mind I don’t know) discovers a pit filled with man-eating monsters in the woods. Being autistic and all he is picked on and he throughout the movie puts his tormenters down into the pit to be eaten! It’s a fun movie but not that great but would be great for this site. The next movie is called The Quiet Earth. It is a New Zealandish movie(from the director of Under Siege 2, one of his first movies) about a man who wakes up one day to find out he is the last man on earth. He believes to be in part responsible because of a government scientific project he was working on. Why he is the last man he does not know. Of course answers are given and he finds out a few things on the way. I don’t want to spoil anything else for you, thats how good this movie is. Also I know you don’t like to give spoilers opn this site but you have got to give your interpretaion of the ending on here. If you look on Imdb.com there must be a dozen different ihterpretations of what happens to the man at the end, I have my own but I would like to read yours. Don’t go on imdb.com and read any that’s cheating. Both of these movies are available on Ebay.com or Amazon or Half.com. Sorry I can’t send mine, I don’t want to lose those copies. Thank you for taking the time to read my webletter and please get those movies they are mustreviews for this site. Also email me if you get this and receive this.
-Luke
Sorry The Hitcher didn’t do it for you like it does for me. I don’t have a problem with everyone seeming stupid, because Howell’s completely out of his depth, and the cops normally don’t have to deal with anyone but stupid people. And I don’t have a problem with Howell’s acting (in this movie, at least), because he seemed clueless and out of his depth — which is exactly what his character was meant to be.
I saw The Quiet Earth years and years ago, and enjoyed it; it’s one of the movies I intend to get around to reviewing sooner or later. And I’ve noticed the cover of The Pit in video stores for years; I’ll get around to reviewing it someday, if I live that long.
Thanks,
Nathan
subject: “Justice is Coming… For the CORN!!”
Date: Tues, 19 Jan 2005
name: GregHey ya’ll,
I’ve just spent a great 4 hour til dawn reading bad movies review feast here at coldfusionvideo …. Wow, great stuff! Really enjoyed it, laughing out loud all nite.
But I have one burning question: where in HELL did you POSSIBLY find a copy of Cornman??
And if nobody has written to tell you, you’re exactly right about how it was made; I met most of those involved about a year later, and they were exactly that: a bunch of kids in love with movies, making a movie they wanted to make.
However, the film I was lucky enough to participate in wasn’t Cornman, it was a newer thing called Prison-A-Go-Go, finshed (I think) around a year ago. I’ve yet to find a copy for myself, but I was on-set for about 80% of the shooting, and I can tell you that the movie Barak shot was a very funny, very literate send-up of women-in-prison-bad-ninja-action flicks, starring the still-magnetic Rhonda Shear, and with the amazing Mary Woronov to boot!
I strongly recommend you track this one down, too. Barak and Co. were extrememly impressive, and I expect much better things from this guy in the future. Also, a co-star, Mike Weibe, featured in Cornman as well, is lead singer for the latest “thing” band out of Denton, Tx, “The Riverboat Gamblers”.
And I gotta say, Ms. Shear and Ms. Woronov were both unforgettable personalities. Rhonda in particular was a lot of fun (although she can be a damned finicky Scorpio when it comes to food). :)
Also, Lloyd Kaufman was on the set the day we had Mary Woronov, and, whatever else you might say about him, that man is about 10 feet of energy packed into a 5′6″ body.
All in all, it should be a fun film, unless the bright young editor got hooked on heroin before post-production finished… All the qualities you liked in Cornman were there, but the production value was about 1,000% improved over the first film.
Btw, Cornman was indeed Epstein’s first picture — and his second! In fact, the actual reason for the switch in leads was to reflect the fact that a big chunk of the footage had been shot a year earlier for a no-budget home flick, then re-used with much additional footage to make this, a movie that is thus it’s own sequel. (A point the script is aware of, but you prolly have to watch more than once to pick up on).
Anyways, go get Prison-A-Go-Go. If the utterly gratuitous mud-wrestling and the on-screen “Shower Scene Countdown” timer don’t make you laugh, then I dunno what will. (Oh, and when you see the mud-wrestling, have sympathy for those poor girls — it was actually an early morning in October, and about 35 degrees out while we were shooting. And not one of those girls complained! Ah, the joys of hiring first-time talent… heheh)
Greg
ps: no this wasn’t a paid endorsment.. I was merely the caterer on Prison.. lol
Hi, Greg. I got Cornman along with a stack of other screeners from distributor Sub Rosa through their publicist at the time. I’ll keep my eye out for Prison-A-Go-Go.
And get some sleep.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Movie Reviews
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005
From: Countryboy (Allen Stucker)Nathan,
I’ve been a fan of your website for quite a while now. I find your reviews to be excellent and I really enjoy reading you Blog. I have a question, are you (or will you) review ‘They‘ vs ‘Darkness Falls‘. I recently rented ‘They‘ and was severly disappointed with the movie. Several reviews mentioned it’s similarities with ‘Darkness Falls‘. I’m now in the midst of watching ‘Darkness Falls‘ and I am throughly enjoying it. These two movies beg for a versus review. You being the premier movie reviewer on the web I thought I’d bring it to your attention. I have to admit that long term exposure to your site has caused my reviewing reflexes to kick in while watching movies now. I’ve noted one case of spring loaded cat. Thanks for the site and keep up the good work.
Countryboy (Allen)
Whoo! “The premier movie reviewer on the web”? I don’t know about that, but you can be damned sure it’ll end up on my letters page!
Both of those movies are on the list of movies to watch and review (currently 11,000+ titles strong); I have no immediate plans to get to them, but I suppose if either one fit into an upcoming Video Binge theme, they could get bumped to the top of the list.
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Question about a movie similar to “Escape from Sobibor”
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005
From: Byron HenryA few years ago I remember flipping across a movie I think was playing on a basic cable channel, not HBO or Skinemax. Maybe more like Lifetime or Discovery.
Anyway, there were images I found surprising to play on TV during daylight hours, particularly naked children and adults ferried from gas chambers on wheelbarrows and carts, and similarly buck-naked adults being machine-gunned as they stood on the edge of a pit, where they’d fall down once executed and the mass grave filled in.
Yes, it was a Nazi movie, but I’ll be damned if I can remember what it was. I figured I’d pick your brain to see if you knew. It seemed to take a long time (maybe three or four hours). Any of this ringing bells? Or was it “Escape” and I just missed the Rutger Hauer parts?
Thanks for the help.
No, that wasn’t Sobibor. The one scene of naked prisoners shows the women and children lined up between the strip-down shed and the “showers.” One naked child panics and runs, and is run down by a German shepherd.
I don’t know off the top of my head what movie you saw; maybe you should visit the forum and ask a broader audience.
Nathan
Subject: Weirdo “Tempter of Eve” book
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005
From: TSWHi Nathan,
This is TSW, the guy with whom you had the “Jack and the Witch” discussion with many moons ago. I’ve gotta give you kudos for reviewing some of the most bizarre books ever published, and that “Tempter of Eve” screed fits the bill perfectly.
Fundamentalism being what it is, there are no doubt even more bizarre theses being posited out there. Here’s one:
http://home.pacifier.com/~dkossy/dino.html
Rather less odious than “Tempter” but definitely off-the-wall (or is it truly less odious? The authors seem to be calling for sterlization of massive parts of the biosphere…!)
Later,
TSW
Yeah, Diane Kossy’s stuff is classic; I’ve had Kooks for years, and I’ve always dreamed of running across a copy of “Did God Destroy the Dinosaurs?”
Nathan
Subject: Great Reviews
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005
From: VirginiaHi!
I’ve been stopping in periodically over the last year and reading your reviews. They never fail be right on target or make me laugh. Your site is wonderfully diverse (where else can I find a review for “Boxing Helena” AND “Hard Rock Zombies” in the same place??)and I love all the bits of trivia that are thrown in.
I’m going out tomorrow and renting The Hitcher for the first time thanks to your review. (I was rather ambivalent before, but now my curiosity is piqued.)Unfortunately, I live in an old house in the county and you specifically warned against that scenario… but I’ll have my husband so I won’t be compounding things by watching alone, ha ha.
Now, of course, I must throw in the prerequisite requests and suggest that you consider reviewing the techno classic Tron, the strangely enjoyable Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and the horrendously awful The Grudge.
I’m not used to writing fan-mail and don’t want to blather on, but I really enjoy your reviews and wanted to tell you to keep up the good work.
Virginia
Thank you very much. You’ll be happy to know that all three of the titles you mention are on the list of 11,000+ movies to review, so sooner or later…
Nathan
Subject: Real Ultimate Power
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2005
From: joeVikings are mammals. Vikings fight ALL the time. The purpose of the Viking is to flip out and kill people.
oh man, i nearly died of laughter when i read that….. nice work.
Thanks very much.
Nathan
Subject: New webdesign
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2005
From: WagnerHi!
I’m always accessing your great site to read the most recent reviews, and today, I’m surprised to see the new design of the homepage!!
I just want to say it became more clear, clean and eassy to navigate!
Congratulations!!!
Wagner, from Brazil.
Thank you very much. (And of course, you noticed that the Feedback page itself is one I overlooked in the redesign — I’m getting to it soon, honest.)
Nathan
Subject: The Hitcher
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2005
From: SandraI remember the first time I saw it. I immediately wrote to a penpal: “I just saw a terrific movie, but I can’t tell you anything about it, because I don’t want to spoil it for you. All I can say is, the first line of dialogue is “My mother told me never to do this” i.e. pick up a hitchhiker – and Mother was right!” It amazes me that TV Guide and the various TV Movie books give it one star (*)! It is at least a three star film, and I’d give it four stars. Incidently, it got two thumbs down from Siskel and Ebert! I wondered if they had seen the same movie I had! They hated it, and they liked MY DINNER WITH ANDRE? Unbelievable! I read an interview with Rutger Hauer, and his take on the character is that he wants to die, but doesn’t have the guts to committ suicide. When Jim gets away (presumably he’s the only one who ever has), he is chosen to be the executioner, and the Hitcher sets out to drive this normal kid to the point where he WILL commit murder. C. Thomas Howell says he he was actually afraid of Hauer. Probably the only way to get a convincing performance out of him.:-D Jennifer Jason Leigh made two movies with Hauer, this and FLESH AND BLOOD, and she says he’s all witty and charming until the camera light goes on, and then he switches on this killer smile, and you know he’d as soon kill you as look at you.
Yup, Ebert gave it NO stars.
But what can you expect from someone who didn’t appreciate Phantasm 2 either?
Thanks,
Nathan
Subject: Japanese and the “peace-sign”
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2005
From: Kurt vonRoeschlaubJust checking out the new layout and stumbled into the phone card section where you mused as to why most Japanese hold up the “peace-sign” when getting their photo taken.
I had wondered the same thing and this is the story I was told (as originally told her by her grandfather). I have no idea if it’s true, but it is plausable.
Most Japanese had their first exposure to cameras right after WWII when American soldiers on leave would take photos of everyone and everything. Apparently, whenever the soldiers had their picture taken surrounded by native Japanese they would hold up their fingers in the “V for victory” pose. Probably asserting a bit of nationalism of some sort, or to look more heroic to the family back home.
Anyway, supposedly the onlookers just assumed that this was the appropriate pose for photographs, and did it themselves as cameras became more available within Japan. Things like this die hard, and so people still do it today.
I leave it up to you whether or not this is an answer to the question.
It’s plausible, and it can’t be disproved. Sounds good to me.
Thanks,
Nathan
