Hello again everyone! Here is another Catching Up post for the last week. We had only one film to watch for the podcast, and it was a spooky one for Halloween! This week tended to favor HBO Max for no particular reason, and the last two films were watched on Halloween with my friends! (Shout out to Nadia, Kevin, and Stacey) I did watch a trilogy for its annual rewatch, but now I get to talk about it here! So let's dive in, and start with the film we watched for the podcast this week!
Killer Klowns for Outer Space (1988) REVIEWED ON THE PODCAST
SCORE: 75/100
Directed By: Stephen Chiodo
Starring: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson
Synopsis: Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
Quick Review: Killer Klowns from Outer Space is so much fun, just don't take it too seriously. It's a type of film that we don't get anymore, and should be cherished.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available for rent only.
The Running Man (1987)
SCORE: 59/100
Directed By: Paul Michael Glaser
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto
Synopsis: In a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where runners must battle killers for their freedom.
Quick Review: Let's get this straight. This movie is not perfect, it's not exceptionally well written, and it's not particularly well acted. But I think this movie is still a load of fun. It's more of the quippy, Arnold-heavy good time that you'd expect. However, while Predator, The Terminator, and Total Recall all remain classics to this day, why doesn't this one? I think it's because it's not really memorable. It's a great time while you're watching it, but afterward you completely forget about it. No moments stand out, except for all the one liners from Arnold. If you're a fan of 80's action and dystopian style movies, it's worth a watch, just don't expect to come out feeling completely satisfied.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
SCORE: 90/100
Directed By: Henry Selick
Starring: Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, Ken Page
Synopsis: Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Quick Review: Is this film for Halloween time? Or Christmas time? I'll leave that question for you to answer, but I will answer the question if this film is good, and it's a resounding yes. I've enjoyed this film for so long, and looking at it through critical lenses now only makes me appreciate it even more. The animation is slick and gorgeous, even almost 30 years later. It's beautifully macabre, and is the quintessential Burton film, even if he didn't direct it. It oozes his aesthetic, which Henry Selick crafts into an incredible film. The music is just as good as I remember, as I'm currently humming it while writing this. It's a great film regardless of the season you watch it in, and it more than deserves its place in animation history.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Disney+.
I, Frankenstein (2014)
SCORE: 19/100
Directed By: Stuart Beattie
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Bill Nighy
Synopsis: Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.
Quick Review: This is a masterclass in taking an interesting concept and turning it into utter schlock. The idea of Frankenstein's monster still being alive in the modern world is interesting. Putting him into a war between Gargoyles (which apparently are servants of God?) and Demons. What? In what world are those two things connected to Frankenstein? I understand the classic monsters like vampires, werewolves, mummies, and all the others, but gargoyles? I feel that there is a deeper story here, examining the meaning of life and purpose, but it squanders any lofty ideas in favor of subpar action and a less than interesting conflict. The acting here isn't horrible, but it's not good either, as Aaron Eckhart is not an action star. Even Bill Nighy, who's at least interesting in everything he's in, is boring here. Yvonne Strahovski is the only bearable person here, but I think she's been underrated most of her career. Some may find this at least somewhat interesting, I don't, so it gets what it deserves.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Peacock.
Batman Begins (2005)
SCORE: 84/100
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine
Synopsis: After training with his mentor, Batman begins his fight to free crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption.
Quick Review: Christopher Nolan's trilogy begins with this film, which is an undeniably great one. Christian Bale starts his journey as a generation's live-action Batman, complete with the unmistakable voice. The only real criticisms I have with the film are it villains. I wish the film focused more on Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow instead of Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul. Scarecrow is far more interesting and menacing as a villain to me than Ra's, but I understand his focus due to the story. Also, it doesn't really feel as much like a Nolan film as the sequels did. What I'm referring to here is the cinematography and the editing, which doesn't feel as good here as The Dark Knight or Rises. However, the writing is great, the visuals are top notch, and the acting is fantastic. It really rises above the other comic films of its time, but doesn't quite hit the heights of its successor.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
The Dark Knight (2008)
SCORE: 100/100 MUST WATCH
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
Synopsis: When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Quick Review: This isn't just a masterclass in making a comic book film, The Dark Knight is a masterclass in filmmaking as a whole. It's a perfect film from beginning to end, with everything from its writing to its acting being executed with such skill that you're left in awe. Heath Ledger's legendary performance is still an inspired piece, and still causes the skin to crawl all these years later. The performances are all top notch, with each actor bringing their own emotional contributions to the story. The action is perfect, the tension is palpable, and the visuals are flawless. My words really can't do the film justice, if you haven't seen it already, you definitely need to. It is utter perfection.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
SCORE: 86/100
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
Synopsis: Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman, with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman, is forced from his exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane.
Quick Review: The final Dark Knight film always garners a mixed reaction depending on who you ask, but I think it's a great film. It continues the story and ties everything into the first film in a unique way, although some audience members may see the reveal coming a mile away. Tom Hardy's Bane is awesome in my opinion, and presents the physical foil to Batman where Joker provided a mental one. Anne Hathaway is great as Selina Kyle, and really plays up the anti-hero nature of the character. Rises has a sense of finality and scope to it that the other films didn't, and it's really a new Batman story unlike any I'd seen. I think that's why it's usually a mixed bag for reactions, because it's a fitting Nolan Batman story, and not your typical Batman one. My biggest gripe though has to be its length, but I don't know what I'd cut. Watch it on the biggest screen you can, with the loudest sound you can, for the whole experience.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
SCORE: 67/100
Directed By: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker
Synopsis: Five interwoven stories that occur on the same block, on the same Halloween night.
Quick Review: This is a perfect movie to watch during Halloween. It's fun, fits the night wonderfully, and has all the moments you want while watching with friends or alone. However, I don't like it when the film takes a few turns into supernatural directions. I would've preferred a film with down to earth terrors, like the first story in the film, as opposed to the crazier stuff. Not that it's bad, it can just get a bit goofy. There are some incredible practical effects here, especially during the forest and Sam sequences, but they undercut a more realistic aesthetic the film could've taken. More on the plus side, the film has its funny moments, which I've come to appreciate in horror movies as of late. As much as I've heard this film hyped up, I'm happy to say it's not as bad as I would have thought, but it's certainly not a classic to me.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
SCORE: 8/100
Directed By: Ronny Yu
Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Kelly Rowland
Synopsis: Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenagers of Elm Street. Only this time, they're out to get each other, too.
Quick Review: As the kids say, YEET! This film has more people being thrown like baseballs than any superhero movie ever, but it's amazing that the film can't fly into being good. This film is AWFUL, from start to finish. The acting is beyond bad, except for the always fun Robert Englund, with every character being so poorly written and executed that I'm still amazed this actually released in theaters. The visual effects don't age well, the story doesn't make any sense, but let's get to the worst part; the action. Yes, Jason and Freddy fight, and it is terrible. Everyone flies through the air when punched, and there's a complete disregard for physics. It's genuinely astounding how this made it through the editing room, or rather, through a studio executive's desk. It's all around bad, don't watch it. That's it. I would much rather watch Jason go up against Michael Meyers, that would at least be more interesting than this. It only gets points for Robert Englund.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
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