Three to start again...

"Frankenstein's Army" (2013)

World War 2 rages on, with the Communists storming through Eastern Germany, and while answering an advance unit's request reinforcement one Soviet unit finds far more than they ever bargained for, a secret Nazi lab in full swing making new kinds of super soldiers. The film's well made and fairly entertaining but does sag a bit in the middle, taking some too long playing one note before gearing up again for the run to the end. All in all, it really is a cut above average, even if just. Rentable.

"The Moleman of Belmont Avenue" (2010)

Two rather bumbling brothers have run their inherited brownstone apartment building into the ground, and adding to their woes, something's trying to eat every living thing in the place, starting with the tenants' pets. It lives in the basement, and it's up to the boys to stop the menace. It's not exactly a grabbing premise, and unfortunately the film keeps in line such. It's not a bad film. It's certainly not a good one, though Robert Englund stands out as Confab, a mildly creepy and at the same time cool older ladies man. The problem with the film is that only Englund seems to fire on all cylinders. Besides his performance and a few moments here and there, the film's really not that fun. Not recommended.

"Manborg" (2011)

I will only say that the poster says it all and that this film was made for $1,000 (Canadian). Beyond that, it's the best film on today's list and better than several I have reviewed on this blog. Watching it, it's the 1980s all over again. It's a marvelous pastiche. The nearly nonexistent budget is obvious in every frame, as is the ludicrous amount of fun, work, and love that went into it. "Manborg" is nothing but laugh-out-loud fun all the way through. It's definitely worth renting and/or buying.

Bigotry can get you killed, by your own hand or your friends', and it will be funny.

A group of horny, beer-swilling, pot-smoking college kids just wanted to go camping... out in the middle of nowhere... where years before something really, really bad happened to a group of horny, beer-swilling, pot-smoking college kids who just wanted to go camping. And Tucker and Dale just wanted to go fishing at the lake by the cabin. Oh yes. Hilarity. It does ensue.

"Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" (2010)
directed by Eli Craig
written by Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson
starring Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Brandon McLaren, Chelan Simmons, Adam Beauchesne, Christie Laing, Philip Granger, Travis Nelson, Alex Arsenault, and Joseph Sutherland

How Is it?

If you enjoy horror, comedy, and/or romantic comedy films or just like watching films that fire on all cylinders and are loads of fun to watch, then you should see this one.

The Players

There really isn't much to say in this section. While Labine, Tudyk, and Bowden are the leads of the film, it's an ensemble piece. The supporting cast did a marvelous job, each one getting their moments to make their mark and doing so memorably and well. They were all fun to watch work. I was especially impressed with Tyler Labine and his chemistry with his co-stars. In a film full of excellent performances, his portrayal of Dale really stands out. Alan Tudyk, ever reliable in drama and/or comedy, is in top form as well. And Katie Bowden fits right in with the two of them and is a real delight to watch as well. The three of them work marvelously together.

Behind the Camera

Good actors can do wonders with poor to average scripts. When good actors get really very good scripts... well, we get what we have with this film. Craig and Jurgenson delivered a solid script, one that covered all the bases quickly and effectively, one that didn't waste much time on standing exposition but generally kept things moving. So the audience gets information at the same time as the plot moves along, and it clicks. That it parodies a well-worn classic genre helps, of course. People know what to expect in slasher films, and so part of the fun is watching how those conventions are turned around. It's a good story, and it's well told. There you are.

Looking at the technical side of it, "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" is a very well made film. It's Eli Craig's best one yet, I'd say. The film's direction is much like what I said of the script. It's moves at a steady clip and keeps the audience engaged, something more than a few films have difficulty doing. The cinematography, lighting, special effects, and all are clean, not overcomplicated or overambitious, and very effective. It looks like he made all the right choices with this film. It's one of the best all-around films I've seen in a while.

The Verdict

"Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" has beer, skinny-dipping, fire, a deserted lumber mill, blood, cultural misunderstandings, gore, plenty of laughs, and a lot of heart. Highly recommended.

The Thursday List, Episode 3

"Bunraku" (2010)

To put it simply, this is a visually striking, highly stylized live-action semi-noir four-color comic Samurai/Old West Good-versus-Evil fable. A lot of time, money, and talent on several levels went into making this film, and truth be told, you see every last bit of it. Some have claimed it was too long-winded and convoluted. I found it quite easy to follow and highly entertaining. I rented it on a whim because it was 99 cents, and now I'm going to buy it on Blu-Ray for my collection. Highly recommended.

"The Grand" (2007)

"The Grand" pokes fun at the colorful personalities of professional poker players and their tournament world. It's a very laid back, funny, good-natured film, which comes a good deal from the choices of actors, all of whom are quite good at guided improvisation, which is a euphemism for "not much in the way of a script". There are a few lags here and there, but its generally even. Woody Harrelson, Werner Herzog, Gabe Kaplan, and Dennis Farina kind of steal the show, but not by too much. It's a fun film that you don't have to think about but just relax and enjoy the laughs. Recommended.

"Night of the Demon" (1957)

Note to U.S. readers: "Night of the Demon" is an original U.K. production renamed "Curse of the Demon" by its American distributor for its stateside release.

"Curse of the Demon" (1958)

When I recommend a movie, that's one thing. When Martin Scorsese recommends a movie, it's another, much more impressive thing. He does. So it is. "Curse of the Demon" is a very effective horror film because it has a tight, lean script brought to life well by a talented cast and because it is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. The technical direction and cinematography are top-notch. Its production was more than a bit rocky, which makes it a bit more impressive that it all came together so well. It's a solid, effective, reasonably family-friendly horror film. Highly recommended.

At least it's better than "Neighbor".

A guy and his girl go visit the guy's old friend at his exclusive apartment in the big city. They meet some new, generally shallow people, and things go kind of downhill from there. Oh, and then... space aliens invade. And no hilarity ensues.

“Skyline” (2010)

directed by The Brothers Strause

written by Liam O'Donnell and Joshua Cordes

starring Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, and Donald Faison

How Is It?

There's not much to say, really. It looks way better than it ever had any hope of being. The production value of the film is high, and nothing else about the film even comes close to it. The only things not done on the cheap in the film are the special effects. It's pretty bad, really.

The Players

Eric Balfour plays Jarrod, and Scottie Thompson plays his girlfriend, Elaine. Donald Faison plays Jarrod's best friend and old partner in crime, Terry. All three a decent enough actors. It's just with the lackluster script and pretty hackneyed story at hand, it was probably all they could do to go through the motions. They aren't the stars of the “Skyline” anyway. The aliens are, and directors Greg and Colin Strause made sure that's obvious. The actors are just there to get the audience to the next special effects shot, a grave disservice to them and to us viewers.

Behind the Camera

The writing is mediocre, at its best moments. “Skyline” is a rehash of every major alien spaceship invasion movie of the past fifteen or so years, and nowhere does it even try to be original. The dialogue is clunky, and the entire script is far too long. The biggest problem of the script is that it seems to have been made to service the visual effects desires of the Strauses. It comes across as a story and script built around preconceived “cool moments” and/or “awesome visuals”, not a solid (at least least serviceable) story and script from which such moments and visuals would be inspired. For the most part, when the characters are talking the film is really quite boring. The script seems accidental.

The physical production cost of the movie was around $500,000. The special effects budget was somewhere between ten and twenty million dollars -- going into CG aliens, space ships, aerial battles, and lots of blue lights. It looks good, of course. Though the aliens and the ship are blatant rip offs of popular movie alien baddies we've seen many times, it was millions well spent. It's a technically well made film, but as directors, whose jobs are supposed to include drawing the audience in and sustaining interest, Greg and Colin are breathtakingly lacking. There is no sense of atmosphere in “Skyline” other its emotional vacuity. The Strauses made a video game, not a movie – and not a very good video game at that. Decent video games at least engage you and keep your interest throughout.

And the film's ending, if indeed one could call it that, is just absolutely cringeworthy.

The Verdict

“Skyline” is a prime example of the all too familiar problem of spectacle over substance. It's not a good story, nor is it well told. There's no story to speak of. The whole film is an excuse for big CG effects, and that just doesn't cut it.

“Skyline” is like “Birdemic”, just with better effects and no fun in watching it whatsoever.