starfoxfan86 Reviews

Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Purposlessness

[4 January 2017]

Werner Herzog is one of the all time greatest directors, but his second feature film, "Even Dwarfs Started Small," is an absolutely puzzling film.

The story focuses on inmates of an insane asylum, who in the absence of the faculty, take over the complex and bring on chaos and anarchy as they see fit. The story is told with little to no linear sensibilities, and too the film's credit, it works. However, Dwarfs' failings and successes all stem from this story. It is that there is no story. Only the this chaos and anarchy, with some scenes featuring one authority figure failing to deal with the situation at hand. When watching the film, there are scenes featuring the inmates watering flowers with gasoline, driving a van in circles with no one at the wheel, a foodfight, and disdain for the farm animals kept at the asylum. And these scenes range from dark and disturbing, to darkly humorous, complete emptiness, or somehow all of the above.

The real problem I personally would hold against this film is that everything serves no purpose. And even if purposelessness is the intention, something has to be gleamed from it. And while it's clear Herzog was going for this, he instead created an empty void of drabness and dark humor. And from the few other Herzog titles I've seen, I can say even with a lack of story, his ability to have defined and memorable characters (such as his later work in Aguirre The Wrath of God, and Stroszek), cover up the minimal, and abstracted story. But Dwarfs, doesn't really have that same character, and that may well be the reason this film gets lost. But the actors and actresses are all good, the black and white photography is fitting, and the bad soundtrack fits nicely with the tone of the film. Plus the all dwarf cast makes for an interesting experience amid the dull void.

Herzog is a masterful director, and this second feature of him showcases his immense technical strength and skill, but ultimately ends up as a failed avant garde art film focused more on being gratuitous. I say Herzog fans and art film fans go ahead and check this out. The rest can go check out Herzog's more famous works.

Sacrifice! (1972)

Part Horror, exploitation, drama, sudo documentary, and tasteless cinema.

[12 December 2016]

Though not particularly well versed, I'd consider myself to currently be a big fan of Italian horror, and "Sacrifice!" is officially the first cannibal title I've seen, and let me say this wasn't 100% what I was expecting.

The plot is simple enough, a British photographer while exploring the Thai/Burmese jungle gets captured by a native tribe and slowly starts to become absorbed into it. Now I say native tribe because it is not a cannibal tribe, and the actual cannibals in the movie only account for less than five minutes of screen time, so this technically isn't a movie about cannibals, but kind of an examination of an "undeveloped," (shall I say) tribe.

First the positives. The sudo documentary opening is quite excellent. The rugged, dirty, and even rough Asian city contrasts nicely with the small village, and our lead's stories of London. Also, the story is quite effective. You get to know the characters, and grow to feel for them. This film was obviously concerned with telling a story with characters. And from what I've seen, the later cannibal films forgot about his aspect. And once again, Italian horror movies have to have an excellent score, and this is no exception. Everything fits the mood, and is another fine example of Italian horror scores.

Now, the moderates. Though there is story and characters, this is still also an exploitation film. We're treated to many fine shots of naked Me Me Lai, and a few other girls, while basically minimizing the amount of male nudity. And as for the violence, while I would say the human element is fine. There aren't too many gory scenes, too which one is actually an effective cannibal scene, and all are quite effective, and even shocking even by toady's standards. And while there's also a bit of minor stuff, such as people getting shot with darts, both poisonous and non poisonous,I now have to address the main issue with this movie, which perpetuates the whole genre.

The absolute negative aspect of this movie is the real animal killings. Though I fully acknowledge that these are all ways of tribal life, but watching animals die simply for shock value is unacceptable. It doesn't help that the animal abuse is a recurring thing through the movie. It just comes of as tasteless and sickening, especially when the footage could be cut and nothing would be lost.

"Sacrifice!" is only really notorious for starting the Italian cannibal boom. And despite the animal abuse, it is still a well executed film. This is only something for the strongest of the strong. No exceptions.

Big Bad Mama-San: Dekotora 1 (2008)

Schlock at its best

[24 August 2015]

This movie is crazy when you think about it. There's a non linear plot that still manages to arc, there are tonal changes throughout that actually are pretty smooth for the most part, and not to mention some pretty crazy characters. The plot for sure is unusual, it's mostly made up of shorter plots that wind up quickly wrapping themselves up. The tone here is really what makes this movie crazy. Most of it does have a comic tone, but then there's two soft sex scenes that this movie relishes in. The only bigger break from those scenes are the fact that this movie gets sad near the end. I won't say what or why, but trust me it happens. But, what's really crazy is with the exception of the sex scenes that go on for way too long, the tone of the movie actually ties together surprisingly well. While I don't think I could summarize the characters, all I can say is just about every supporting character is crazy in some way and does add to the comedy of the movie. This is a hard movie to summarize, but it's a funny and entertaining little Japanese direct to video movie which I'm sure is better here in the United States than it is in Japan. And I do have to mention one last thing, and that's the IMDb page for this movie- and that's the fact that most of the cast credits are for the English dub included on the DVD (which I didn't watch). Still the actual Japanese cast should have credit here everyone here is quite memorable in their own unique way. So if you see this review, check this movie out.

Eraserhead Stories (2001 Video)

Not really a documentary, but still worth seeing.

[7/10 · 23 July 2015]

There isn't that much to say about this. It's just David Lynch telling a lot of stories abut the five year long making of Eraserhead with short segments of a phone interview with Catherine Coulson who was an assistant on the film, and pictures and behind the scenes videos spliced in. So this really isn't the most striking thing to watch, but lynch has a lot of really good stories that he tells very well. He does tend to go off on a tangent several times, but still these stories are also very interesting. Overall this isn't really a documentary, More of an extended interview, but anyone who enjoyed watching Eraserhead should check this out.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

an epic modern masterpiece

[10/10 · 13 June 2015]

What are action movies today? They are a sea of CG, PG-13s just for the label, Marvel super heroes, and Michael Bay jokes. But every so often there is something like this. and while this is an existing franchise this moves shows us what a modern action movie should be. One of the draws of the original Mad Max trilogy is the real stuntwork during the action scenes. There really is something special about watching an actual stunt and knowing it was done for real. Mad Max Fury Road actually is real stuntwork like it's predecessors- but not only that it is far more ambitious in every action scene. Just about every move someone makes or a crash during an action scene here really is a spectacle. The theatrical trailer is just a small taste of what happens. And I estimate that 50-75% of this movie is pure action- yet it somehow doesn't grow old. But this is not a CG free film. However CG was only used to remove stuff like rigging and wires- which makes the action even more spectacular. Another spectacle this movie has to offer is the production design. Just looking at the vehicles and how most of them are pieces of different vehicles is just incredible- and they all were real. And at last there's the story. This movie sort of is a remake of the original Mad Max and The Road Warrior but at the same time is it's own original film. Not only that but there's the aspect of the characters- and despite the massive amounts of action, every major character is completely developed, and even the supporting cast is very memorable for different reasons. In actuality the story keeps the action from getting old and the two parts actually are almost the same thing. This movie is almost a month old at the time I'm writing this review and this is one of my top 10 favorite movies. This may not be the case for most people, but the use of action as visual storytelling really left an impression on me and I wish more action movies will follow in its footsteps. It really is impressive that 30 years after the last Mad Max movie and after 14 years of delay that George Miller brought back his signature series with a completely new vision. I look forward to the sequels that come. This is a really simple summary and it does not do the movie the justice it deserves. Mad Max Fury Road is a movie that cannot be summarized in words. It can only be experienced.

My Baby Is Black! (1961)

I don't know what to say.

[13 June 2015]

This is a weird movie. It's a mix of romance, art-house, and drama. I wouldn't say exploitation exactly because that would mostly be the title. But even saying all that doesn't help explain much. The way all the scenes fit together is unlike anything else I've seen. The only way to explain the weirdness would be to watch this movie for yourself. You can get a laugh out of this movie if you want. There certainly is enough random scenes, goofy romantic scenarios, and weird artistic moments to get a laugh out of. Like I said, the story is weird (mostly due to the stuff mentioned above) but the title is misleading. The title is clearly meant to draw in American audiences to make them think they're going to see an exploitation film when really it's not. and while the opening scene is the baby's birth, I think the Cinema Snob said it best in "The rest of the movie shows how her baby came to be black". This is a french movie, and I guess it's interesting to see another country's take on race. It also Fortunately manages to not fall into any bad ideals or stereotypes and is certainly well intentioned and does it's best to show love can conquer racism- but it's just weird. I don't know what else to say. It is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy blacksploitation, riffing movies yourself, or even pre civil rights movies on race, even if this is a french film. I can't explain this movie. It simply has to be seen.

The Screaming Skull (1958)

Boring.

[2/10 · 13 June 2015]

If you watch Cinemassacre's Monster Madness, you may have seen the episode review for this movie. Do not believe it. There aren't really any goofy campy moments, there isn't really anything memorable about this movie except for how bad it is, and nothing really happens. One thing mentioned in the Monster Madness is there are a lot of jump cuts in this movie- well I guess there's different variations on this movie since the Alpha Video version doesn't even have any jump cuts. I can't even say much about this movie, so what happens? A newly wed couple move in together, the man's ex wife really freaks the woman out and maybe is trying to haunt her- a skull keeps appearing around her. The husband tries to pin the appearances on the gardener but it turns out he's the one who's trying to scare her so he can get her money. But in the end the wife's ghost comes back and gets the husband. The End. This movie is only an hour long but still feels like a waste of time. My brief summary is just as deep as the rest of this movie. I don't have much to say because there is nothing to say. Just don't watch the movie. You really aren't going to miss anything.

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

does this stand up to the original or is it a convoluted mess?

[7/10 · 13 June 2015]

The original insidious is a modern masterpiece in the horror genre. While its technicals can be rooted back to other movies- it is still an impressive work that shouldn't be missed by any horror fan. Now a a sequel would be hard work- but this movie came out a few months after the conjuring- a film even scarier than the first insidious that is just as good if not better. Now I'm not going into the technicals of those films because I want to talk about this film. But it is impossible not to at least get an idea of those films before talking about this. So Insidious chapter 2 actually starts with a flashback to Josh's problems being diagnosed by Elise before it picks up immediately where the original left off. Now the story here is the biggest part of the movie- but I can't go too deep without giving spoilers. But as it is it actually mostly works. A common complaint against this movie is that it's confusing and convoluted- and I am going to admit there are scenes that are like this, but the story as a whole does make sense. The story is for sure on a larger scale than the original but that's not a bad thing. It also follows the only route it could have taken after the ending of the original. Actually in a lot of respects thanks to the story this actually is almost better than the original. But as I said there are still problems and yes they do hold this movie down. There are a few scenes, and events that don't make sense, and since this movie is about finding answers it really hurts when a few important points simply don't get explained. If I can I may do a second review where I go into these details but as of now I don't think I'm ready to explain something like that. Anyways, there is one other problem- and that this film attempts to add comedy through the spec characters. I don't even know why comedy was written into this movie- and it is VERY out of place when it happens (well there is one funny line but it's at the end and isn't even delivered by either spec). I wound up choosing to ignore this part of the movie, but I know other people won't be able to. Now the horror scenes in the movie are on par with the original (there are some jump scare Esq scenes, but the movie doesn't rely on them). Some of the imagery is actually really creepy and fits nicely. Not only that the performances are also really good- especially Patrick Wilson, who really showcases a lot of talent here. Overall this movie mostly works but gets stuck on some roadblocks it could have easily avoided. I feel I can't do this movie's successes and failings without spoiling anything. So I guess the best thing to do is watch this movie for yourself and make your own judgments.

All Monsters Attack (1969)

Worst Godzilla movie? yea...

[5/10 · 20 November 2014]

Up until this film, I've rated the other Godzilla movies (other than the original) off entertainment value. But this one, while I found it amusing- completely fails as a Godzilla movie. The biggest problem is the story. The main story isn't even about Godzilla, it's about a kid who gets bullied and whose parents are always off working.

Now about Godzilla and the giant monsters, I don't think it counts as a spoiler to say that most of the monsters in this movie have far less of a cameo than they did in destroy all monsters. Others such as Ebirah, Kamacuras, and Kumonga only return in stock footage- which turns out to be most of the monster fighting. There is one new monster- called Gabara, but that's it. The other huge failing is the point of the monster scenes. The kid fantasizes about going to Monster Island and befriending Godzilla's son, who's troubles parallel his own. And he talks. I think that in the Japanese version, he sounds more like a girl, it's nothing horrible. But the American dub, I can't explain. Just watch the Godzilla's revenge Monster Madness to see what I'm talking about.

The final thing to explain is the other subplot. There are two robbers who stole 10,000 Yen- and the kid ends up crossing paths with these two criminals. This part serves little purpose, doesn't make much sense, and could have easily been replaced and/or omitted.

The way this movie is set up doesn't even match the other Godzilla movies. Son of Godzilla felt like a real Godzilla movie even though it was set on a remote island. Considering Godzilla getting downgraded to a fantasy, the poor storyline, not to mention poor writing bring this movie to it's well deserved title of "The Worst Godzilla Movie".

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

one of the worst I've seen in a while

[1/10 · 17 December 2013]

honestly, there's only two things that make this movie so bad

first of all, this movie seems to like to focus on the human characters that we don't care about more and somehow also gives us more of the aliens and predators second, I'm guessing that 85% of this movie is filmed in the dark with little to know light. so essentially, you can hardly see what's even happening

if there's anything good to say- 1:at least this movie has mostly practical creature effects. 2: this movie does have some gore, but it's nothing noticeable. anything else isn't important enough to note here.

in the end, this is a really bad movie, but I wasn't disappointed. I heard this was worse than the first one and I got what I expected.