Edward Scissorhands Review

Well, I was bound to review a Tim Burton film at some point, so it might as well be now. Edward Scissorhands is a film that really shows the true darkness that is a Tim Burton film. It was one of his first films, and it truly is one of a kind. With stunning visuals, satisfactory acting, and a brilliant story, Edward Scissorhands cuts through the ordinary, and I will be sure to tell you why. I have some very interesting points about this film, especially the plot, which I intend to explain right now! Let the movie mania begin!

Edward Scissorhands was released in 1990, and stars Johnny Depp, Vincent Price, Winona Ryder, Diane Wiest and Anthony Michael Hall. It is essentially about a young man named Edward (Depp) who was created by an old inventor (Price). I know what you are thinking Vincent Price sure does work in mysterious ways because he got to play god in this movie! Anyway, because the inventor died, Edward was left unfinished with scissors for hands. Years later, an Avon sales representative (Wiest) who I swear loves to wave her hands around a bit too much, finds Edward in his old mansion, and decides to bring him home with her, which starts a lot of gossip and crazy events that happen one after the other. Edward also has his sights set on a beautiful teenage girl named Kim (Ryder) who is already taken by a big buff jerk named Jim (Hall).
One major message that I received from this film is the fact that society cannot handle change. They may think they do, but they can't no matter how hard they try because change can affect the daily grind. Edward changed each of their lives, and because of his innocence and youth he was easily taken advantage of, but also easily feared and hated.

LIKES

• The atmosphere of the film is one of my favorite parts. There is such a contrast between Edward's home and the suburb that is below it. The suburb is so bright and vibrant, while Edward's mansion is dark and grim. However, the suburb seems to have so many vibrant colors, that there is a darkness to it because it seems too good to be true. 
• Johnny Depp is an amazing actor, but especially in this film because he was able to basically play a gentle and innocent man. I barely recognized him as well. This was not just because of the make up, but also the way he played the character. He seemed so soft spoken, and genuine. 
• Anthony Michael Hall played a great villain. If you are supposed to play a bad guy, and you make me hate you, then you are doing your job as an actor. His character is the kind of guy that cannot handle change. As soon as he saw Edward come into the mix, and Kim's reaction to him, Hall's character became extremely jealous.
• The score is fantastic! It just adds to the overall darkness of the film. It makes the plot of the film that much more epic and grand.

DISLIKES

• You know I don't have anything against Dianne Wiest, but for some reason I could not stand her in this movie. She was just too nice for me, and sometimes she really got on my nerves, especially when she nodded after everything nice thing that she said to Edward . It just looked like she was trying to hard to be an innocent character. I also didn't like how she was not in the ending, which was confusing to me because she was the one who brought Edward down in the first place. 
• Alan Arkin's character was also extremely annoying. He played Kim's father, and he was just too bitter sometimes, especially when he didn't take the time to really understand Edward as a person. He only cared about what he did as a tool. 

OVERALL
This film is great! It is one of my favorite Tim Burton films, and I think Burton really started to come into his own after this movie. Don't believe me? Well watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, and maybe you will see some similarities at least in atmosphere.

RATING 8/10 Yeah it has its annoying actors, but it is still a great movie with an awesome lead actor! Good job Johnny Depp! 


Well that is it from me once again! I will be reviewing a new movie next week, but until then this is Movie Maniac saying Happy Watching!

Good Will Hunting Review

So, I have finally motivated myself to jump out of the 1980s, and move forward into the 90s with a gem of a drama simply known as Good Will Hunting. This movie is just packed full of amazing and spectacular acting! I have never seen actors and actresses put more heart and soul in a film before. Plus, the characters seemed so believable. Another added bonus is that Robin Williams is in this film! In case you haven't heard, he happens to be my favorite actor. This is probably one of his best films, and I will be sure to tell you why.

Anyway, Good Will Hunting was released in 1997, and was directed by Gus Van Sant, and stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgård. The film centers around the character of Will Hunting (Damon) who is a 20-year old janitor at MIT. (Yeah I know right? MIT!) Well it all made sense to me further on in the film). You see Mr. Hunting is not your average 20-year old. He is extremely gifted. His mathematical knowledge is limitless. There is literally no math problem that he can't figure out. However, with a gift comes his plethora of troubled personality traits. Will is very aggressive, violent, arrogant, cocky, and just downright disturbed. I mean he beats up a guy that was in his kindergarten class. KINDERGARTEN! For crying out loud, I don't remember everyday of kindergarten. Anyway,  he was charged with numerous convictions, and was about to be thrown in jail, when an MIT math professor (Skarsgård) takes him in and makes Will promise to do math with him everyday, and he would be released as long as he sees a therapist (Williams). From this point on, Will meets Sean, a psychologist that listens to him, and while they do get off on a rough start, they create a bond that changes both of their lives for good. Also, Ben Affleck plays Will's best friend, and Minnie Driver puts on a wonderful performance as Will's girlfriend, Skylar. The whole film really is a character study of Will, and his life. This film also shows how Sean guides Will in finding what he wants out of life.

LIKES

• As I have said before the acting is phenomenal. Plus, their really are a couple scenes that are tear jerkers, and I am not talking about a chick flick tear jerker. I am talking about scenes that make you feel like you are with the characters, and you are feeling their emotions.
• Robin Williams! Hands down! He is phenomenal, and he deserved the Oscar that he won for this film. He is just an all around great actor, and this is probably my favorite performance by him. His character is so helpful, even if he hated Will at first. He never gives up on him, and that is a character I totally admire. Plus, he plays a real person, and Will was able to relate to that.
• The setting was believable. It just felt so real, as if it was my own hometown, and for some reason I felt like I knew the people that were in it.
• The writing is phenomenal as well. It was even written by Damon and Affleck. It was just again believable. The dialogue did not seem fake at all, and you could really understand what the characters were going through, and of course my all time favorite line, "How do you like them apples?"

DISLIKES

• As much as I understand why Skarsgård's character is in the film. There are a couple times where he is just a complete jerk, especially when he argues with Sean about Will's future. He just seems too arrogant, and while I have met people like this in my life. There were just too many times where his arrogance shined through, and I just couldn't handle it.
• The ending. While I like where the ending was going, I wish it would have been more fulfilling. I wanted to know what happened next, and a lot of films use this strategy when you just have to imagine what happened afterwards, but it didn't completely work for me.

RATING 9/10

OVERALL
This film is a true gem in the drama genre, and I really admire the symbolism of the fact that Will knew a lot about all these subjects, but he didn't really know what it's like to actually pursue these subjects. He also could solve all of these math problems, but never any of his personal problems, well until the ending anyway, which I don't want to give away.

That is it from me the Movie Maniac! Tune in next week for another review! The mania will continue on!

Bloodsport Review

Moving away from the horror genre, but I am still stuck in the 1980s! Ah yes, martial arts films, how can you wrong? There are lessons to be learned, teacher-student bonds to be made, and of course, fighting to be had, and sometimes it can get bloody. Well, this film is bloody-tastic! I am of course referring to Newt Arnold's Bloodsport. This film is definitely a gem as far as the shear realistic fighting. The acting on the other hand....well....let's just say that Jean-Claude Van Damme doesn't convince me as an Oscar worthy actor, unless the Oscar is an award given by Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. Yeah that bad. However, his martial arts skills make up for it somewhat, and I stress the word somewhat!

So, you are probably wondering why I mentioned the director's name other than the fact that it is Newt Arnold's film. Well, I found out a few films that he also worked on. He was an assistant director on movies such as The Godfather Part II, Blade Runner, The Goonies, and The Abyss. I found this very interesting because I am wondering if he really followed any possible advice by his superior directors. So, that being said, while reviewing this film, I will ultimately come up with my own opinion as to if Arnold is a legit director. Now, you are probably thinking, "How can you figure that out from one film?" Well this is one of the three films that he directed, so I think I can manage.
Anyway, Bloodsport was released in 1988. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as real-life martial arts legend Frank Dux, who competes in the Kumite, an underground martial arts tournament in Hong Kong, to honor his sick teacher of the Tanaka clan. This film also flashes back to when Dux was a child first learning what his teacher called martial science. After his teacher's son dies, Dux finishes out his teacher's training, and becomes his prized student.
As Dux travels to Hong Kong he is chased by two army officers to get him back to the army. Along the way, he buddies up with a mindless, but friendly American brawler named Ray Jackson, and an attractive reporter. Then, as the competition rolls on, he faces a challenging enemy known as Chong Li, played by Bolo Yeung, who has never lost a match. Dux must defy the odds, and win to honor his greatest teacher.

Chong Li!

LIKES

• The tournament itself is a classic free-for-all filled with bloody battles to the death! I admire this because you pick out characters that you like, and as more and more fighters are killed off, you wonder who will survive, even though Dux is the main character.
• Van Damme is an excellent fighter. You can definitely tell that he is well-trained.
• The final battle between Dux and Chong Li is epic, and shows the best of both fighters' skills.
• There is a guy that hangs around Dux in order to help him fit in among the other fighters named Victor Lin played by Ken Siu, and while his acting is obviously bad, he still cracks me up when he gets mad because you can definitely tell that it is forced. 

DISLIKES

• As mentioned before, Van Damme's acting is horrible! It is not Tommy Wiseau horrible, but you still find yourself wondering where he received his acting lessons. Although, apparently without him the film would not be possible because he played a huge behind-the-scenes role in editing the movie. so he was good at something, but not acting.
• Ray Jackson's character is too tough. He tries too hard. He picks a fight with everyone in the movie, even the army officers, who could easily get him in serious trouble with the law. Take Arnold Schwarzenegger for example, his acting may not be up to par, but he is just a tough guy, he doesn't pretend to be someone he's not in his films. 
• Besides the "Fight to Survive" song, the music is a little too corny for me, and while I realize that a lot of 80s films were like this, some of the songs used for this movie seemed to communicate a pop music vibe than a fighting vibe to me. So, what I am trying to say is, none of the songs made me want to punch something!

OVERALL/DIRECTOR ASSESSMENT
So, does Newt Arnold seem like he really learned by example from his superior directors? I obviously can't know for sure, but I am assuming no, especially for the acting. The action, maybe, but definitely not the acting. This film would have been so much better if the actors knew how to act, especially Van Damme. Even though the fighting almost overshadows it, the lack of acting is distracting. I wish that Van Damme showed more passion in what he was doing for his on screen teacher. He just seemed so fake to me, and I wish that was resolved. Now, I realize that every person is their own individual, but there is something to be said about learning from others to be the best you can be, and Arnold didn't seem to believe in this idea.

RATING 6/10- Great film if you are looking for awesome fights. Just don't expect to be impressed by a Razzie nominated actor for Worst New Star, Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Well that is it from me! Stay tuned for more from the Movie Maniac! The mania has just begun!

 

   

Hellraiser Review

The 1980s has to be a definitive decade in the horror film industry. It was the decade of spectacular special make-up effects, which made many of the monsters more realistic. This made the experience much more frightening. It was also a decade of extreme gore and violence. Clive Barker's Hellraiser is no exception to this fact. This film is very violent, and it is not for the faint of heart whatsoever. It is for that group of few people who can stomach this type of film. I will be reviewing this film today. As always I will give a brief summary, and then my own opinion with likes and dislikes included. So, here we go! Let the movie mania begin! WARNING This review may contain spoilers!

 

BRIEF SUMMARY

Hellraiser was released in 1987, and starred Andrew Robinson, Claire Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and Doug Bradley as the frightening Pinhead the Lead Cenobite! This film was based on Clive Barker's novel The Hellbound Heart, which centers around an unfaithful wife named Julia (Higgins) who discovers the zombie of her dead lover, Frank, who is being chased by demons known as the Cenobites, who mix pain with pleasure. Julia is forced to find victims for Frank so he can become whole again before the Cenobites take him back to their hell. Meanwhile, Kirsty (Laurence) becomes more and more suspicious of Julia's actions. 

LIKES

• The atmosphere of this film is absolutely morbid, but that is what I like about it. This film is not afraid to show it's true identity, which is misery. It is a miserable film, but in a good way. The first 2 minutes of the movie shows you right away that this film is not going to end well. 
• The Cenobites are wonderfully eerie and frightening, especially Pinhead the Lead Cenobite! He is a great leader, and Bradley put on a great performance. They show no remorse, and love to get pleasure from the suffering of others.
• The scene where the Cenobites come to Kirsty is my favorite scene of the movie because you really see how horrible these demons are, and they scare me to this day.

The Cenobites!

• The gore factor in this film is fascinating. To me, it is that film that went there! Barker didn't care about the squeamish, as long as he made a good horror film.
• The film score is great as well! It really drew me into the atmosphere of the film, especially the music that played when the Cenobites were near. Plus, it made the film feel very epic.

DISLIKES

• I didn't like Frank. His character seemed way too menacing to me. At times, his anger factor gets a little annoying at times.

• While I realize the story is what makes the film hold up, I still wish the Cenobites had more appearances, but on the other hand, the few scenes that they are in make me appreciate them even more.

OVERALL
This film is a strong horror story, and is highly recommended if you are looking for a gory scary movie!

RATING 8/10 

That is my review of Hellraiser. I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for more reviews from me, the Movie Maniac!

Krull Review

I think that one of my favorite movie genres has to be fantasy films, particularly from the 1980s. I believe that there is a lot of room for creativity in this genre because there are no limits to what you can do. You can change worlds, and introduce an insane amount of different creatures. Plus, the best part is, it makes sense to me if it is explained correctly. The particular fantasy film that I will be reviewing today surprisingly is not known by many people. I am talking about the one and only Peter Yates's Krull. This galactic fantasy takes you to a different world of scenery, monsters that make a really high screeching noise when killed, an extremely old seer, an awesome cyclops that is a good guy for once, a widow in a web, a monstrous beast, and of course Liam Neeson! It took me until this past summer to realize that he in this movie, and while he does not play a major role, he still shines! WARNING! This review may contain spoilers. As before I will give a brief summary, and then my own opinion of pros and cons. Here we go! Let the mania begin!

Krull was released in 1983 and stars Ken Marshall, Freddie Jones, Lysette Anthony and as mentioned before Liam Neeson! The setting is the world of Krull, which pretty much looks like your average fantasy scene with open fields, castles, deserts, arctic mountains and a giant spider web! Anyway, two kingdoms plan to unite by the marriage of Prince Colwyn (Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Anthony) who actually love each other! That is a first for an arranged marriage.
Before this marriage occurred, a giant fortress landed on the planet. This black fortress belongs to the beast and his slayers, which basically look like a bunch of Mysterios from Spider-man. These slayers interrupt the wedding, which involved exchanging fire (I know sounds interesting right? You just have to watch it), take the princess, and kill everyone except for Colwyn.
From that point on, Colwyn seeks council from Ynyr (Jones), and old wiseman who tells him to find the glaive (a boomerang with blades) to defeat the beast. I won't go into too much detail after this, but from this point on Colwyn finds the glaive, meets a crazed magician, runs into criminals who agree to travel with him and Ynyr, , and meets an old seer and a cyclops. Together, they try to find ways to reach the black fortress, which changes its position everyday, to rescue the princess.
LIKES

• This film has a very interesting plot, On the DVD there is a review from Variety, which states "Excalibur meets Star Wars. Lavishly mounted" (Variety), and I completely agree with that statement because it basically is. Although the only galactic part of the film is in the first minute, it is still a galactic fantasy. I also like the challenge of the black fortress because it changes positions, which is intriguing, and really makes you wonder how it can be reached.
• Seeing a cyclops portrayed as a good guy is different, and great. It kind of puts out that belief that people fear what they don't understand, but once you understand it, it is not scary anymore. I also liked the story of how this particular cyclops became a cyclops, as opposed to Greek mythology. 

• The journey itself is very substantial. With every fantasy film that I watch, I always examine the journey. The locations are varied, and based on the fact that you don't really know where they are going because the black fortress changes positions, it makes the journey less predicable. 
• The glaive is a cool weapon. and is pretty much the logo for the film. It is easily recognizable, and breaks away from the traditional sword. 

Colwyn holding the legendary glaive!

 

 

 

 

 

• The widow of the web is a very interesting character. I know I did not talk much about her, but she basically reveals the key to finding the black fortress to Ynyr in the film, and she lives in center of a giant spider web. Her character is dynamic because she was punished in a terrible way. She lives in web of her own guilt.
• Although the film has an evil villain, the film is basically a feel good fantasy. Granted there are some casualties, but I felt really good watching this film from start to finish. It might be the score, but I think it is the characters, and the different location they encounter on the way. It is just very adventurous, and I respect that.

DISLIKES

• Colwyn is a cool guy, don't get me wrong, but he seems very arrogant throughout the film. He has a egotistical demeanor, and you can tell he has let royalty go to his head. He believes in the power of love, but he also believes in the power to whine and complain when Ynyr tries to help him. He is a great hero, but a bad character if that makes sense.
• The beast did not seem very scary to me. Maybe it was because I could barely see him! Seriously, when Colwyn and the beast square off, they are literally 200 feet apart from each other. I realize that the beast is very big, but I wish there was a closer confrontation. It seemed more like a war, than a battle between them, and I didn't really like that. Plus, it is very obvious to me that the beast is just a green screen.
• The purpose of the glaive is very confusing to me Ynyr tells Colwyn to use it when he needs it, and Colwyn asks him when he will know, and Ynyr tells him you will know. Well, besides the battle with the beast, there were a dozen opportunities where he could have used the glaive, and he didn't! Why? It is a boomerang with blades! It could take out a lot of enemies in one throw. Plus, the glaive does not even end up killing the beast! Remember that exchange of fire I told you about? Well, the fire ends up killing the beast.....WHAT?!! What was the point of the glaive? It just makes no sense! 
• I wish the black fortress would transport to different worlds instead of different parts of Krull. I realize that the name of the film would have to be changed, but I just think it would be interesting, and it would the make journey much more enjoyable than it already is.

OVERALL
Even though I bashed it somewhat, Krull holds a very special place in my heart because I watched it as a kid, and I finally found it on DVD after all these years. It is very nostalgic to me, and there are a lot of good things about this film. It is a great fantasy film, and I recommend it for anyone interested in 80s fantasy movies!

RATING 8/10

That is all from me. This is movie maniac signing off! Until next time!

 

Introduction and First Review- The Thing

Hello all! My name Sean Kenny, otherwise known at the Movie Maniac, and I love movies. Ever since I first started watching films, I was drawn into the different worlds or states of mind that they take me to. As often as I can, I will be reviewing a film that I own to show exactly how many movies I have as well as how much I respect movies. I will now begin with a film that I have purchased recently, and that is John Carpenter's The Thing. WARNING! This review may include spoilers, so if you have not seen this film, you might want to watch it before reading this. I will give a brief summary of the film, but the majority will be mostly my opinion. Here I go. Let the mania begin!

The Thing is one of those films that I call "gloriously gory" simply because it has some of the greatest special effects to a horror film I have ever seen! Sure, it might be dated, but it still continues to scare me to this very day, and I will tell you why.
This film was released in 1982, and starred some of Hollywood's greats such as Kurt Russell and Keith David. It is actually a remake of the 1951 classic, The Thing from Another World. The film takes place in the Antarctic (now that right there spells terror!). A group of American scientists slowly but surely find themselves faced with a great threat, a shape-shifting alien that starts out in a sled dog, and works its way into each and every person. The whole film basically portrays the meaning of the word paranoia!
Okay, now it is time for me talk about why I respect this film. As gory as this film is, there is a great wonder to it, and almost beauty. Now, that might seem twisted, but hear me out. The beauty of it lies in the achievement of realism in this film. You see, as much as I love CGI, it can really be done wrong if you get the right person to screw it up. I have seen so many horror films where there is a CGI monster, but it is obviously fake. No effort is done to make it look the slightest bit real. That is not the case for The Thing because the special makeup effects look very real, and as fake as the idea of aliens may be to some people, the alien looked terrifying!. Call me crazy, but this film has a beauty to it because of that.

The characters are also very well written because as tough as some characters may seem, each and every one of them show fear. For example, there is scene where everyone thinks that MacReady (Russell) was taken over by the thing. All of the scientists were dangerously close to killing him, and when MacReady threatens to blow the building up, I could see the terror in his eyes. It is such a great character study to see what lengths people will go to survive, even if it means taking a risk in killing the wrong person.

The setting is brilliant in my opinion! Who is going to save you when you are on a continent where the majority of the world thinks it is pretty much dead? To me, it is like a more down to earth version of Ridley Scott's Alien. No one can hear you scream in the Arctic either. I mean think about it, both aliens inhabit humans somehow. The only difference is the thing shape shifts.

I could probably talk about this film for hours on end, but in short, John Carpenter is a genius. I really cannot think of anything negative. The ending might be a letdown to some people, but just keep in mind, they are all in the Antarctic, there is limited amount of things that can be done for rescue! It just shows the hopelessness that this alien brought to them. I give this film a 10/10 otherwise! Thank you for your time! Look for more reviews on my favorite films! Movie Maniac signing off!