THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Melinda Dillion, Cary Guffey, Teri Garr, and Bob Balaban.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg.

Story:
In the opening of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, strange things are already happening before our eyes - First, in the Sonoran Desert, a lost squadron of fully operational World War II aircraft are discovered but its crew is still missing; secondly, two airline flights almost collide mid-air with a UFO in Indianapolis, Indiana; then, a three year old boy is drawn out of his home when his toys starting acting on their own behalf in Muncie, Indiana; and if all that wasn’t enough, the state of Indiana undergoes a large-scale power outage, during which an electrical lineman (Dreyfuss) soon finds himself caught up in a motorized pursuit of a group of UFOs.

The electrical lineman, Roy Neary, soon becomes obsessed with UFOs, for better and for worse - the latter especially for his wife, Veronica “Ronnie” Neary (Garr). Before you know it, Roy is making scale models of strange geologic formations he’s never seen before but has become fascinated with - the image in question here is that of a weird looking mountain. It’s not long before Gillian (Dillion), the three year old’s mother, bares witness to a UFO landing herself (to which her son is abducted) and begins doing the same thing as Roy. Roy’s eccentric behavior only gets worse, causing his wife to abandon him, taking the kids with her. Roy and Gillian, at the same time, soon spot something similar to the models they’ve been envisioning on a TV news show: The Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. The both of them, along with a group of others with similar visions, make their way toward the site; meanwhile, UFO activity all over the globe increases, making themselves more noticeable.

Characters:
*Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss): An electrical lineman who becomes obsessed with the UFOs.
*Claude Lacombe (Francois Truffant): French Government Scientist who’s investigating UFO activity in the US.
*Gillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon): The single mother of Barry. She also becomes obsessed with the UFOs much like Roy does.
*Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey): Gillian’s young son who gets abducted halfway through the film.
*Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Neary (Teri Garr): Roy’s wife who’s being driven insane by his obsession and wants nothing but for him to forget about it.
*David Laughlin (Bob Balaban): Mr. Lacombe’s assistant and translator.

Overall:
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was a much long-cherished film project for Steven Spielberg which had been in the works since 1973. The story and elements may sound and seem a bit on The X-Files side, but this is before X-Files and the material in question is handled a whole lot better here by Mr. Spielberg. Rather than putting the main focus on the aliens, he puts it on how life changes for Roy and Gillian because of the aliens and their presence. The script pulls enough strings to draw us into the minds of these two people, particularly Roy, and their life-altering obsession with the visions brought on by the aliens.

The third act is a special effects extravaganza. Yes, we do see the aliens; yes, they look somewhat similar to the ‘grays’ that we are all familiar with and have become accustomed to seeing in media, however, their appearance and execution is handled with much care and uniqueness, once again, a huge thanks to Mr. Spielberg. There is no war, explosions, or fighting to be found here, this is not “Independence Day”, this is the ultimate UFO obsession motion picture.

Rating: ****

Starring: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov, and Farrah Fawcett.

Directed By: Michael Anderson.

Story:
In the 23rd Century, the world has fallen due to overpopulation, pollution, and war. The last survivors continue life inside a giant domed city, putting the world outside behind them. Within their contained ecologically balanced world, the human race lives for the sake of pleasure, the only problem is: Once you turn thirty, you must die or become born again in a fiery ritual known as the Carousel.

Characters:
*Logan (Michael York): A sandman turned fugitive.
*Francis (Richard Jordan): Logan’s best friend, also a sandman, who pursues him.
*Jessica (Jenny Agutter): A woman who holds the secret to finding sanctuary, also on the run with Logan.
*Box (Roscoe Lee Browne): A large cyborg gone insane.
*Old Man (Peter Ustinov): An elderly man living outside of the domed city whom Logan and Jessica meet and partner up with.

Overall:
Welcome to the world of “Logan’s Run”. Based on the novel by George Clayton Johnson, the story centers around Logan 5 (Michael York) who is a sandman - the police, so to speak, of the domed world, although instead of providing ’sleep’, they provide termination for ‘runners’ (the thirty-year old citizens who refuse to become reborn in the Carousel) - He often wonders what exactly is beyond the domed city and what actually happens to people on the Carousel, but his fellow friend Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) always assumes the obvious and reminds him not to bother with such questions.

We are treated to a carousel sequence early on in the film after the first scene - While the effects and such seem a little dated here (as it does in other places), the whole concept depicted here actually seems pretty scary - It is never mentioned whether the carousel brings survival or reincarnation to its members, but it takes place inside a large circular arena where the participants are decked out in white hoods, face masks and bodysuits painted with flames. The floor rotates while the participants float upwards toward a huge rosette on the ceiling of the arena. While floating up, they are each vaporized one by one while everyone watching cheers and chants “Renew!”

Sometime later, Logan finds himself ‘in the mood’ so he looks for a woman on what’s known as “the circuit”, a teleportation-like device which (by remote control) can summon someone from the circuit - Here he summons a beautiful girl named Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter). She, unfortunately, is not in the mood but happens to be wearing an interesting collar with an ankh pendant hanging from it. Later, at the Sandman headquarters, Logan returns the personal items he gathered from the runner he and Francis killed at the beginning, which includes another ankh, the computer informs him that it is a symbol for an underground railroad ran by a group assisting runners who are trying to reach a safe haven known as “Sanctuary”. Here, the computer assigns Logan a special mission: Find Sanctuary and destroy it. In order to do this, there’s a catch: The computer advances Logan’s life clock to thirty so that he can qualify as a runner (runners are identified by the red blinking light in the palm of their left hand).

Logan is reluctant to accept but has no choice. He confronts Jessica again and before you know it, they’re both on the run, through the domed city to the sewers and to the mysterious caverns beyond. This is a great cult film which became often overshadowed by “Star Wars” which came out a year later. The special effects may look a bit on the cheap side, but as far as entertainment and fun goes, “Logan’s Run” certainly delivers. Also, Jenny Agutter is such a gorgeous babe to watch here. It should also be noted that a remake has been in development hell since 1994. While I am not a huge fan of remakes (many of them stink), I think this film could use one - especially the carousel sequence, picturing what could be done with that today is even scarier than what’s seen in the original here.

Rating: ****

Starring: Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie, Danny Woodburn, Niall Matter, Dan Payne, Apollonia Vanova, Glenn Ennis, Darryl Scheelar, and Doug Chapman.

Directed by: Zack Snyder.

Story:
In an alternate 1985, vigilantes have changed and aided the course of history throughout World War II, Vietnam, etc. As the Cold War increases tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, a group of former vigilantes investigate a murder conspiracy against one of their slain members and uncover something far more sinister.

Characters:
*Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman): The only woman in the ‘Watchmen’ group. She finds herself often caught between the odd but intelligent Dr. Manhattan and the human but normal Nite Owl II. She dresses like Storm from “X-Men”.
*Daniel Dreiberg/Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson): The guy who looks like Batman in his outfit. He seems to have a thing for Silk Spectre II.
*Walter Kovacs/Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley): A masked vigilante who continues to be a vigilante long after vigilantes have been outlawed from the world. He narrates the whole story. This is the guy who looks like a cross between “Darkman” and Madonna’s Breathless from “Dick Tracy”.
*Dr. Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup): An omnipresent glowing blue superhero commissioned by the US government. He spends his time trying to solve scientific matters such as the energy crisis as well as trying to reunite with his ex-flame, Silk Spectre II. This is the guy who is kinda reminiscent of the villainous Apocalypse from the X-Men.
*Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Matthew Goode): Retired superhero turned millionaire whom has no problem making his identity public. This is the guy who looks like Chris O’Donnell aka Robin from “Batman & Robin”.
*Edward Blake/The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan): A vigilante commissioned by the US government. He likes to do things his own way. The whole plot is based around him as he is murdered in the opening scene, he is only seen through flashbacks after that (which sucks, by the way). This is the guy who looks like Robert Downey Jr.

Overall:
Wow, there is not one ounce of ADD present in any of this film’s camera shots, I am shocked about this, considering that 99.9% of all films today are usually diagnosed with those types of shots. Well, that’s one of the good points about “Watchmen”. That aside though, it’s a film with a unique and uncommercial approach that strives to stand out amongst most of the garbage you see out there nowadays, I have to give many props to director Zack Snyder for doing this, I would have never expected it.

The entire film is one oddly interesting visual extravaganza, it looks a lot like a graphic novel at times. Unfortunately, it’s let down by some things such as the fact that most of the movie is a flashback-esque story that’s set in the present, but 80% of the film is about the past. Snyder should have just did that story instead of the 1985 one; then, make the 1985 story as the basis for the sequel with the heroes retired and one of them murdered at the beginning, etc.

Also, some of these costumes are just plain out awkward. You’ve got a guy who dresses like “Batman”, a girl who dresses a bit like Storm from “X-Men”, a guy who looks like Chris O’ Donnell’s Robin from “Batman & Robin”, a guy who dresses like “Darkman”, and an omnipresent glowing blue man who often reminds me of one of the X-Men’s villains, Apocalypse. I’m not sure if the original comic creators intentionally did this as some kind of ode or symbolism to their identical counterparts or what. Hey, if that’s the case, I’ll just gather up Freddy, Jason, Michael, Leatherface, and the Fly, make characters that look similar to them, and call it “Boogymen”.

“Watchmen” does have a fantastic unspoken message about how a movie should be shot, however, I will definitely give it that. But this film, overall, would have faired much better if it wasn’t a mostly flashback type of story. Nevertheless, thank you very much, Zack Snyder, for reminding the new era of Hollywood that it is possible to shoot an action sequence without an annoying shaky camera.

Rating: ***

Starring: Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Terrie Kalbus, Kenneth V. Jones, Susan Harper, Lynn Eastman, David Arntzen, Ralph Richmond, Bill Cone, Laura Mann, Mary Ellen Shaw, and Myrle Scotton.

Directed by: Don Coscarelli.

Story:
24 year old Jody Pearson and his 13 year old brother Mike Pearson are residing in a small suburban town where death happens very often, that includes both of their parents too. Jody and Mike, along with their ice cream vendor friend Reggie, begin to suspect The Tall Man as being responsible for the plague of deaths. Before you know it, The Tall Man’s minions begin haunting and pursuing Mike, forcing him to try and convince his older brother of what’s going on. Once he successfully does so, the three of them discover an odd white room with containers inside the mausoleum, there happens to be a gateway in this room that leads to another planet (or dimension perhaps?) which Mike momentarily enters and sees the dwarfs that have chased him throughout the whole film being used as slaves.

Characters:
*The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm): A supernatural undertaker who is capable of turning dead people into dwarf versions of zombies and orders them to do his work.
*Mike Pearson (A. Michael Baldwin): Jody’s younger 13 year old brother who is the main protagonist and pretty much is ahead of everyone else in terms of knowing what’s really going on.
*Jody Pearson (Bill Thornbury): A 24 year old musician who is raising his 13 year old brother Mike. Their parents recently passed away.
*Reggie (Reggie Bannister): An ice cream vendor who teams up with Mike and Jody in their suspicions of the supernatural mortician.

Overall:
Although “Phantasm” has long since become a cult classic and has many redeeming things about it, it comes off as possibly being one of the most boring films of 1979 (not to say I was alive in that year, but it certainly gives off that impression). The film is about an evil figure known as The Tall Man (Scrimm) who is a supernatural undertaker of sorts that turns the deceased into these ‘dwarf zombies’ whom he commands to do all of his dirty work. We come to learn that The Tall Man was formerly a mortician.

The film does engage in some visually stunning special effects - such as a silver sphere sequence which caused the film to initially be rated X by the MPAA because the scene involved a man urinating on the floor from a wound in his forehead before his corpse falls to the ground - and some rather creepy chase sequences involving The Tall Man and the main characters. Overall, the movie does have some interesting story concepts but the tone of it all is rather repressed and boring, especially the music. I know that the director was trying to pull us into the film’s world of a town that is plagued by death and the deceased, but accompanying it with repressive horror music isn’t going to enhance the film’s quality any further.

Rating: **1/2