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FEATURED THREADS for 1-18-23

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 1:44 pm    Post subject: FEATURED THREADS for 1-18-23 Reply with quote



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All Sci-Fi member The Spike turns his attention to a trio of dark and troubling films.

One movie involves a man sentenced to death who wakes up in a psychiatric hospital . . . trimming the hedges. Shocked

The second movie is about an unlikely crime fighter who was disfigured by an explosion — thus releave him of the need to have a masks to hide his face and his identify.

The last one is a struggle between good and evil; good in the form of H.G. Wells, and evil in the form Jack the Ripper.

Enjoy these fine flim reviews by our member from Great Britian. (That’s why he spells “colourful” with a U. Very Happy)


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Lazarus Project (2008)



Lazarus of Oregon.

The Lazarus Project is directed by John Patrick Glen, who also co-writes the screenplay with Evan Astrowsky. It stars Paul Walker, Linda Cardellini, Piper Perabo, Bob Gunton, Malcolm Goodwin and Tony Curran. Music is by Brian Tyler and cinematography by Jerzy Zielinski.

A reformed criminal out on parole is beset by bad luck and finds himself sentenced to die by lethal injection. Strange then that once the lethal dose is administered, he wakes up working as a grounds-keeper at a psychiatric hospital.

John Glen's first directing assignment is very much a mixed bag, but if landing in the DVD/Blu-ray players of the right audience it could well gain some momentum in the wake of Walker's untimely death.

It's one of those films that operates at a funereal pace and thrives on other worldly atmosphere. After the introductions to the main character and his psychological make-up is out the way, pic shifts into a realm where we, as well as Walker's character, are never sure what is real or what is going on. Is he in some afterlife place? Is it all in his head? A dream? Drug induced? And etc.

One of the smart things about the movie is that it binds the audience to the mystery by asking us to fill in the gaps with our own logic. While crucially the reveal comes at the right time so as to give us viewers the opportunity to re-evaluate the various quandaries that the piece has thrown up.

For those who like films like Jacob's Ladder, Shutter Island, The Jacket et al, then this has to be at the very least of interest, to warrant the chance to sell itself to those particular sub-genre fans, besides which, it also shows a string to Walker's acting bow that was rarely tapped into by other directors.

And it's beautifully shot by Zielinski too. Contemplative, intriguing and even chilling as regards the various themes it deals with, this Lazarus deserves its own second coming. 7/10

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Darkman (1990)



Enter Darkman.

Sam Raimi's trial run for the Spider-Man franchise is a whole bunch of fun. Liam Neeson plays Dr. Peyton Westlake, a super scientist who after a major run-in with the villainous Robert G. Durant (Larry Drake), reinvents himself as Darkman, a super-anti-hero who sets about ridding L.A. of its mobsters.

It's a comic book film that isn't based on a comic book, Raimi inventing his own tortured protagonist whilst homaging similar beings of eras past.

All the silliness of such fare is here of course, overblown violence and colourful characters are frequent, but there's good thought gone into the revenge theme, while the action sequences are often excellent. The pace hardly sags, as Raimi's creations move about a Los Angeles that is equally decaying or affluent, and in Neeson the story has a lead actor with swagger, pathos and emotional force in abundance. 7/10

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Time After Time (1979)



"Ninety years ago I was a freak. Today I'm an amateur."

Time After Time is directed by Nicholas Meyer who also adapts the screenplay from a story written by Karl Alexander and Steve Hayes. It stars Malcolm McDowell, David Warner and Mary Steenburgen. Music is by Miklos Rozsa and cinematography is by Paul Lohmann.

How delightful, a wonderful idea is given an equally wonderful presentation. The makers have come up with the idea of pitching Jack the Ripper against H.G. Wells, in the present day of 1979. This after the Ripper (Warner) used Wells' (McDowell) time machine to escape the Whitechapel police back in 1891, thus forcing Wells to track the infamous killer to San Francisco in the future.

There have been so many fish-out-of-water based movies over the years, it's so refreshing to find one that has a genuinely original premise to work from. In the Ripper's case he sees all the violence around the streets of San Fran and believes it's his calling to be in this company.

On the flip-side, Wells is perturbed to find that this is not the Utopia he had envisaged, but yet the science lover in him is fascinated by what he finds. Helps, too, that he has caught the attention of a very horny Amy Robbins (Steenburgen), who is equally fascinated by his genteel mannerisms.

Naturally the fun has to stop at some point to let the suspense and darker aspects of the story come to the surface.

Meyer gets the blend right, dropping in little snippets of evil as Jolly Jack, resplendent with waistcoat and money belt, goes about his bloody business, and then switches to the Wells/Amy axis as they try to build a relationship whilst trying to convince the authorities that a nutter is very much in their midst. It builds nicely, ramping up the tension considerably, and there's always the pertinent question hanging in the air of if there is any hope for H.G. and Amy?

Such is the rich characterizations and quality of story telling, we most assuredly care about the outcome to this splendid piece of time travelling cake. 8.5/10

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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