wytshark Reviews

Session 9 (2001)

Gets under your skin

[9/10 · 27 August 2001]

Everything about this movie impressed me. The script was lean and inventive, the direction stylish without being overblown, the acting top notch. Even the shot-on-video cinematography looked great (with the exception of one or two exterior shots that had a hint of video look to it, most everything else was "filmic" and artistic).

I also appreciate any horror movie that can generate real tension and suspense from imagination and suggestion rather than relying on lame and lazy tricks that populate most horror movies (if something as limp as Urban Legends can be called a horror movie).

First rate film and I recommend to anyone who appreciates a thinking-man's horror film.

You Can Count on Me (2000)

Nothing But Net

[10/10 · 27 June 2001]

In basketball, there is no sweeter sound than a ball hitting nothing but net--especially if its from three points out. "You Can Count On Me" is like that. Simple perfection.

While watching this movie, I was just reminded again of how awful Hollywood has become. I can't wait for the day when these corporations get sick of being in the movie biz and get back to building widgits and giving everyone cancer. Maybe then we can get more movies like this one: forthright, entertaining and honest, and be free of this sickening glut of product that currently pollutes the multiplexes. I say enough already with this onslaught of overproduced, overhyped trash.

Deadbeat at Dawn (1988)

Van Bebber is out of control

[21 January 2000]

Jim Van Bebber seems to be a man with absolutely no impulse control...and thank god for it. Moving with the brash logic of a couple of 12 year old boys playing army in the backyard, Deadbeat at Dawn is curious and compelling, trashy and brilliant. You want cult? You want guilty pleasure? You want guys getting throwing stars lodged in their heads? This movie has it all and then some. At first glance, you may dismiss this as cheapjack filmmaking (the thing looks like a drive-in movie), but trying to shut it off is near impossible. You will be sucked in; you will be fascinated. And if Van Bebber isn't a guy who deserves a shot at the brass ring with a real budget and a real crew, I honestly don't know who is. Not only does he shoot action sequences with some of the most urgent and alive camera work I've seen in awhile, he also does his own stunts--some of it crazy Jackie Chan level stuff. Watching him get dragged around by a car at the end of the flick, I just sat there wondering how this guy didn't end up in a hospital or worse.

Don't Go in the Woods (1981)

On my top 10 list

[20 September 1999]

Top 10 of the worst films ever made, that is. Now, to get on this list, a film has to supply one thing: belly laughs. It can't just suck, it has to absolutely suck to the nth degree and man does this movie deliver!! I actually was lucky enough to see this mess on the big screen (it got a theatrical release, if you can believe that). And I have seen it maybe 15 times since then. The only way to watch it though is with friends who can also appreciate the genius of a truly bad movie. Don't Go In the Woods is such a wretched mess, its like being on acid or something. Lets start with the actors. It appears as though the director went down to the local Greyhound Bus Station the morning of the shoot and just grabbed whoever was lying around on the benches. The two lead males look somewhat normal, but the two women...wow...scarier than the monster by a long shot. Then there's the whole thing with the dubbing: every voice in the movie is dubbed...and badly. It looks like they looped the voices from memory, because it doesn't seem to be following any kind of script, and it certainly doesn't match the movement of their mouths. You just have to see it to believe it. If you do manage to track this movie down, look for these key moments (this is just a taste of the smorgasbord awaiting you): 1) The Monty Python and the Holy Grail gore effect of the camera-toting tourist losing his arm 2)The guy who just wants his girlfriend to "gimme keys, gimme keys, gimme keys" 3) The ghost-story around the campfire, which ends with the haunting line "Do you smell something?" (bonus: count how many times the redhead asks "Huh?" in that scene) 4) The killer who gets so excited about killing he actually drools into his beard. One final note. If you can't make it through the whole movie, just watch enough to get a taste for the background music (where can I get a CD of that score?!?), then fast forward to the end of the movie. Its been mentioned in other comments, but I just have to say it again: the end credit song is awesome! I picture the guy who did the music (H. Kingsley Thurber?--what kind of name is H. Kingsley Thurber??) as one of these 40 year old dysfunctional guys who still lives with his parents, down in the basement doing this song in one take, but he's gotta be quiet so he doesn't wake up his mom.

The Ninth Configuration (1980)

Awesome--Find the Widescreen Print

[10/10 · 13 August 1999]

Jaws was the movie that made me want to make movies in the first place. Ninth Configuration is the movie that forever changed the way I make them. Certainly I could have picked a more profitable and popular film to use as my guiding force, but in the end saying something worthwhile is more important--and lasting. If you've made your way through the list of raves for this movie, then you've probably taken the hint: rent this movie--JUST RENT IT. And I don't have much to add that hasn't been said already, except one thing: there is a widescreen "director's cut" version available through mail order (or at least there was last time I checked). This is the version to watch. The pan and scan version of this film is terrible. Make no mistake--nothing can diminish the impact of this incredible film--not even minor technical flaws. But the widescreen version really opens up the world of this film, and it changes the pace drastically. Blatty framed a lot of his shots with two people on either side of the screen. The pan and scan version tends to cut between the two actors, which makes the film seem overly cutty and somewhat amateurish. The widescreen version has a much more deliberate, elegant pace. Either way though, widescreen or pan and scan, find this movie and watch it. Especially if you're one of those people that walk out of most Hollywood movies these days feeling insulted and ripped-off. This is the cure.

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

You know its bad when...

[4 August 1999]

I remember my parents taking me to the drive-in to see this when I was a kid, and even then I thought it was terrible. Little kids being notorious for having bad and/or no taste (Barney, anyone??), I think that's really saying something. Although I do remember the spider in the blender trick kind of woke me out of a drooling stupor for a couple of seconds.

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Example of what makes a movie great...

[10/10 · 28 July 1999]

Problems with music rights have kept this film from being seen much since its release, which is a real shame. Recently, the Roan Group released a laserdisc version (not sure if there is a VHS or DVD version), which I rented on a total whim. It turned out to be one of those rare treasures that not only lives up to its hype--it exceeds it. Anyone who wants to know why so many of today's films are sub-par would do themselves a favor by exploring this title. The problem with movies today is that everything is so formulaic, characters (if any are present) are forced to react in completely illogical ways just so the plot can hit prefabricated beats. "Two Lane Blacktop" follows the characters and lets the plot flow from the dynamics between them. Add to that some really unique characters and what you end up with is a movie that's always coming at you from the most unexpected angles, and not one second of it feels false or forced. The writing, directing and acting are dead-on, with Warren Oates a stand-out (his performance should be studied by anyone who wants to act), and James Taylor surprisingly intense and charismatic. It should be noted that this is not an action movie, so don't go into it looking for suspense or great racing scenes. Rather, you should sit back and let this movie work its almost invisible magic on you. And don't be surprised if you're still thinking about it days later.