monkeysvsrobotsdotcom Reviews

Poltergeist III (1988)

Two hours of people running around screaming "Carol Anne". Fun? No.

[30 September 2006]

I've seen worse movies but this one was pretty bad. It lacks all of the scare of the first movie and has all of the clichés of 80's horror. Bad makeup/costumes, bad sfx, cheesy music, nonsensical plot, awful dialog. Did I mention Carol Anne's name is spoken a total of 118 times during this movie? Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

This movie is everything that was wrong with 80's horror. Most of the best scary movies scare you not by showing you scary images but by making you feel scared by creeping you out through tone, mood, atmosphere, cinematography, timing and subtlety often very simple in nature. Look at Psycho for instance it was all about the setup. You weren't pummeled into "this is the scary part!". P3 takes the sledgehammer approach of making sure you understand "this part is scary" by beating you with silly visual effects and over the top music and sounds.

There really was no reason for this movie to be made other than to cash in a little money. It is barely of the quality of a SciFi channel original movie. Skip it and watch the original for a good scare.

Firefly (2002–2003)

Better than you'd think

[25 October 2002]

Never mind what the other user said, as it sounds like he/she only watched a single episode... Like any show it has its ups and downs, but it is also a new show and is still finding its legs (as of this writing it's only about 5 episodes in!). Most SciFi doesn't really start getting somewhere until a few seasons in (look at any Star Trek series for an example). It has style and a little wit. The characters are likeable and not entirely clichéd (in other words, an ugly cripple isn't always the bad guy). I was a little skeptical of the story (Space Cowboys?) but it works. It's a SciFi show even my girlfriend likes. Give it a try, you might find you'll like it.

The Cat's Meow (2001)

A Lot Of Fun!

[19 October 2001]

Nevermind what that other reviewer said. I'm not sure that he saw the same movie I did. I thought it was a lot of fun and I believe most people will enjoy what they see. It has a lot of neat little inside jokes that are even funnier when you know the history of what is going on. I guess to get a little history of the time and subject watch Citizen Kane. While Kane is not perfectly historically correct, it gives you a close enough picture of the time and situation. Anyway, it's a movie most anyone will like. Go see it when it comes out next year, or if you can, see a screening like I did!

Puddle Cruiser (1996)

Don't miss this one, it's a riot. You'll laugh off a kidney!

[27 January 1999]

A hilarious movie made by a comedy group called the "Broken Lizard". They were recently-graduated Colgate students who raised a pile of money to make their movie. Armed with a great script, a bunch of unknown actors and a great soundtrack they made their movie on the campus about a group of friends, a girl, and a guy named Traci Shannon aka "Thunder". The acting is great, the lighting and sounds are amazingly well done. It is amazing what you can do with $160,000 and a good imagination. They are currently touring the country in a Winnebago, going to college campuses to show their movie. Look for it! You won't be disappointed.