I really can’t imagine a film like “The Land Before Time” being released today. As a kids film it teaches about strength, courage, and the willingness to look for hope in darkness. But as a film in general, director Don Bluth offers a story drenched in sadness, terror, and an almost endless amount of sadness. “The Land Before Time,” like much of Bluth’s work, has held up monumentally well over the year with a beautiful eye for detail, painting a massive world on the threshold of evolving in to something new, while also losing much of its own species to death and turmoil.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
What does “Hunchback” teach the audience? Whether you’re gorgeous or ugly, if the hot girl says you’re cool, you’ll become the hero. Also, the nice guy always finishes last. Surely Quasimodo rides off in to the sunset with his crowd of supporters in the end, but who is Esmerelda going home with later that night? “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is a bastardization from Walt Disney, where they take the tragic and brilliant tale of Quasimodo and water it down so much it’s barely an adaptation when we see it in animated force.
Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy (1999)
One of the worst things about fiction is bad exposition. It’s pretty clear from the beginning that “Ancient Evil” probably wanted, but couldn’t afford an entire shot of archaeologists discovering the evil mummy of the film, so we have to have an opening shot of a group of doctors discussing the mummy. One doctor even tells the other doctors where they found the mummy. That’s just bad writing. Why would she reiterate what they already know? Clearly, it’s for the audience.
Come Out and Play (2013)
Like the original film it stems from, “Come Out and Play” offers the question “Who Can Kil a Child?” If your seven year old cherubic daughter was trying to murder you with a hammer, could you kill her? Laugh all you want, but if it comes down to me, and an evil eight year old intent on hacking me to death with an axe, I’ll gladly bring the child down and any other evil children trying to murder me with a machine gun.
Lifeforce (Collector's Edition) [Blu-Ray/DVD Combo] (1985)
Occasionally silly, but still unique and very entertaining, director Tobe Hooper’s “Life Force” is a great contrast to his penultimate “Texas Chainsaw Massare” which relied on muted colors and grimey shades of brown and black to depict his world of vicious violence. “Life Force” is a vibrant and brilliantly filmed horror science fiction film filled with bold shades of bright blues and reds, with a premise that’s all too entertaining to ignore. Hooper doesn’t just create a vampire or alien film, but collides them to form a demented amalgam of a horror classic.
Guyver: Dark Hero (1994)
That’s more like it. After the first “The Guyver” managed to draw up some profit and interest, New Line released a sequel to “The Guyver” directly to VHS. It wasn’t until 1995 where I was finally able to see it on the Science Fiction Channel in American cable television. I wasn’t even aware there was a sequel at the time. For folks who hated the camp and comedy of the first film, prepare for a jolt of pure action packed entertainment.
The Guyver (1991)
It’s hard to believe that such an amazing anime series like “Guyver” would be so poorly received here in the states. Back in 1991, my dad rented “Guyver” for us and I absolutely adored it because I thought the Guyver looked amazing. I loved the look, the concept, the costume, and his elbow blades. Not to mention the movie starred Mark Hamill and that bald guy I always see in horror movies who I always thought was cool.