Whether or not you enjoy “Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night” is directly proportioned to whether or not you enjoy the “Paranormal Activity” franchise at all. At the end of the day this is Japan’s piece of the Paranormal pie and it is officially a sequel to and an extension of Oren Peli’s lore that he established with he first film and that has been established with the second film. This is not the first time an American film has seen a foreign sequel matched with an American sequel as George Romero saw his film “Dawn of the Dead” become its own franchise in Italy while “Day of the Dead” was simultaneously released and for once it’s refreshing to see Japan take on an American hit film and provide their own adaptation of the source material.
Tag Archives: P
Puppet Master (1989) (DVD)
Even twenty one years after its release, I’m still very enamored with the “Puppet Master” series. Ever since the introduction of individual miniature terrors like Blade, Jester, and Leech Woman, I’ve been in love with the Charles Band Full Moon franchise that teamed the world of cruel human beings against the unforgiving dolls that threatened to bring down any and all menaces to their personal well being; I can still remember being a child trying to get as much from the series as possible from the video stores on my small allowance. “Puppet Master” is one of the more restrained installments of the series that features a slow burn premise about a group of psychics who infiltrate a local hotel to investigate the goings on and mysterious secret of life that has been mastered by puppeteer Andre Toulon.
Puppet Master 2: His Unholy Creations (1991)
There’s a new puppet introduced in “Puppet Master 2”: The Torch. He’s a bullet toothed flame throwing foot soldier of Toulon and he’s a force to be reckoned with. For the so-so “Puppet Master” there’s the even better sequel, a mixture of murder mystery and the paranormal that teams a bunch of paranormal investigators with the puppets whom seek to undo their work at every turn. For this sequel’s faults (Toulon was buried outside the famous hotel, why?) there are a lot of pluses, the one being that the puppets are given much more screen time thus much more screen time that allows them to stomp around the hotel and commit their misdeeds.
Puppet Master: The Legacy (2003)
Ah, the search for Toulon’s formula, this is what accounts for plot with “Puppet Master Legacy.” It’s not uncommon for horror films to feature clips from their earlier films, but the Puppet Master series has made it ridiculous by saving money through obvious manners. One is showing the puppets but only in their docile form, and two is padding the film with about as much filler as possible. This filler is clips from the past movies that the director uses to compensate for lack of fresh footage of the puppets. This method would later be included in the rank “Axis of Evil.”
Demonic Toys (1992)
With a screenplay by David S. Goyer, Charles Band’s brand of miniature madness presents the audience with something of an imagination and creativity. It’s “Demonic Toys,” another in a brand of Full Moon tiny terrors that I loved as a child and continue to to this day and for a Full Moon fan like yours truly, “Demonic Toys” has somewhat evaded me over the years. The 1992 horror film is a wicked entry in to Brand’s trademark creativity where director Peter Manoogian manages to make good use of the single setting piece he sets up for the audience.
Passion Play (2011)
Director Mitch Glazer’s film is probably one of the funniest most pretentious art house flicks of the year. It’s one of the stupidest pieces of utter tripe ever conceived by man, an almost satirical look at artsy fartsy that dabbles in to a premise so ridiculous it’s barely competent enough be considered symbolic. Oh Megan Fox is a bird girl named Lily, but she doesn’t want to be a bird girl, but she’s so beautiful! Mickey Rourke wants to restore her beauty by keeping her wings in tact even though she destroys them every night, all the while confronting wandering Indians who come to his rescue, evil old carnies and the like, all of whom are obviously some form of delusions of grandeur by some coked up cowboy played by Rourke who stumbles through the film with a grumble.
Paul (2011)
As an unofficial capper to the pop culture bash that has been “Shaun of the Dead,” and “Hot Fuzz,” I wish I could bring greater tidings to fans of Pegg and Frost who anxiously awaited their third foray in to another genre adventure, but as it stands “Paul” is merely an okay movie. It’s not the worst comedy of the year, but it’ll far from be remotely remembered as the supreme comedy the gentlemen Nick Frost and Simon Pegg partook in. “Paul” feels like a watered down dose of Edgar Wright fare and unfortunately without him in the equation, this third outing as a team doesn’t entirely succeed as a comedy.