#JasonSutekh

[jasonsutekh]

30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)

The survivor of the Alaska massacre is now hunting the remaining vampires but they have a new plan.

Most of the effects are of a consisntent standard, particulalrly the sun destroying ones and some aspects add to the lore slightly. It is at least a variation of the original story rather than re-using the original concept, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t adopt those of other vampiret series or film sagas.

Immediately it was apparent that this sequel lacked the experimentalism and originality of the first film, most notably because it adopts the setting of most modern vampire films which is the big city. Whereas the predecessor was isolated and vulnerable because of the extended darkness, this is on the same playing field as most vampire fiction, including foreknowedge.

The lead character is engaging enough and there’s a little variety in the band of helpers, especially in terms of back story, however none of them are conclusively proven and it never becomes practically relevant. At least the film refrained from doing the typical deciet good-guy technique where a friend turns out to be working for the villains.

Several of the death scenes were over far too fast. The good vampire was a major player but got killed off in a cursory fashion. In the same way the only black character gets destroyed fairly early on and even though the main villain is a woman, she gets a big build-up and then the reveal is underwhelming and her death is quicker than the detective who is a minor character.

3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

-There were originally flares in the script but were replaced by glow sticks for saftety reasons.

-Much of the fake blood in the drinking scenes was a mix of grapefruit juice and cranberry juice.

-Lillith was a character based on the wife of Vlad the Impaler who bathed in the blood of young women in an attempt to absorb their youth.

[jasonsutekh]

12 Angry Men (1957)

A jury of men are appointed to decide the fate of a young man but only one doubts the outcome, the others are all certain, perhaps too certain.

As a psychological study this film has many aspects that can be examined as it unfolds. The most obvious it the principle of minority influence, in which charisma can change the opinions of a room even though it isn’t mainly the lead that offers the actual challenges. It’s also a microcosm of modern politics, one candidate reasons and the other shouts, at first to applause, then once the prejudice is revealed the others turn their backs on him.

Although the pace is bound to be very slow since it’s all confined to one room, it still is an interesting example of a narrative working to a brief. We’re aligned more clearly with the situation and characters because we’re also stuck in the room to figure things out with them (unless you pause it to get a drink). In this way modern audiences could stand to expand their awareness and cinematic variety more if new films were allowed to take chances like this.

One of the more interesting elements considering the self-imposed limitations is the use of space. The ways that the characters fiddle with the few comforts in agitation or reflect the aspects of the case they’re working on with glasses, knives, and even windows adds layers to the story which also makes delicate suggestions about the human condition.

The jurors get a little harder to convince as the film progresses, but even so the final one could have used a little more expanding on his background or at least some kind of suggested closure. There are also too many TV stories based on this which switch the ending to add a more pessimistic outlook where the young person does just get away with murder and flaunts it.

8/10 -It’s certainly worthy of very high praise!-

-All the occupations of the jurors are mentioned except for number 5.

-The jurors appearances reflect their beliefs, the odd man out for example is wearing white while everyone else has a dark jacket, and number 3 wears his belt far to the left and tie on the right, both extremes.

-Though most of the action appears to take place in one room, there are two others that have very brief scenes.

[jasonsutekh]

Prey (2022)

A Comanche warrior must defend her community against an alien threat.

Even though it was a sequel reduced to nearly the basics, a single predator in a jungle-like environment, it was entertaining and had some development. The protagonist was strong, intelligent and had a back-story that was motivational and easy to invest in. She was a fast learner but in a realistically observant way which may have made this the closest example of the Predator vs. Kevin from Home Alone (1990) that we all want.

We know all of the basic strategies for the Predator by this point so there was a great deal of fighting that was essentially just a recap of abilities and making clear what it’s able to do in this time period. The minor characters didn’t get a lot of background and only one or two got sympathetic deaths and some of those were off-screen.

There’s a little subtext worked in about enemies invading a land they don’t belong in, both as the big cat venturing into new territory, the Predator, and the colonisers that cage the protagonist. The land had a bit of variety to it and was integral in the advantages of the lead character which was satisfying as well as logical.

An omission to the main narrative is that the ship is seen moving around after the main Predator has been deployed and they aren’t seen coming back for retrieval so it’s not clear why it was still there or what happened to any others. The main purpose of the antagonist is also left unclear apart from basic curiosity of a new planet or an anointing ritual.

5/10 -Cant’ find a better example of average-

-The flaming torches concealed hidden LED lights.

-The heat vision was done using a real thermal camera as was the case in the original.

-It makes sense that the rattlesnake could see the Predator as they track their prey through heat, similar to the Predator.

[jasonsutekh]

The Twilight Zone (1959-64)

An anthology of odd and supernatural events that explore science fiction and the human psyche.

Some of the best episodes are the ones that either start unusually and then end with a twist or go straight for comedy. In particular there’s a memorable christmas episode and several that work as monster-of-the-week stories. There’s also a pattern of time travel stories or aliens of a different scale to us which are often at least entertaining if not unpredictable.

After so many episodes they eventually get to be a little repetitive or just swap out a few details and leave more or less the same narrative. Due to the wide variety in quality from so many stand-alone stories, there are also necessarily a fair few that aren’t terribly satisfying or attempt to end openly but don’t seem to go far.

Part of the enjoyment of some of the older stories is that they’ve been adapted or parodied in various other shows or movies so they seem familiar as well as still holding up as good plots. There’s some interesting subtext in a few as well that still works well and applies just as much in modern times.

The fourth season is perhaps the weakest because they change the format to make the episodes an hour long and some of them just don’t stretch the pace well enough to cope with it. It works far better as concise ideas, short enough that different contributors can have fun developing ideas and they’re more likely to take chances on new things.

5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-

-The iconic line “submitted for your approval” is remembered despite being used only 3 times, however “In just a moment” was used 25 times.

-Almost all the men in the first season are described as being 36 years old.

-Rod Serling wrote 92 of the 156 episodes himself.

[jasonsutekh]

Mama (2013)

An uncle’s desperate search ends when he finds his nieces who were thought lost but they bring back with them a new and dangerous guardian.

All of the actors are consistently suited to their roles including the younger actors who are needed to carry some of the horror and emotion. The effects were of the quality needed and some of the methods were unusual like having the antagonist dissolve into hair. The locations were also good, even the house that was designed to appear benign.

Although it seems early on that we’re going to follow the uncle for most of the story, he goes into a coma half way through and becomes pretty much irrelevant thereafter. The dreams were also made out to be significant but weren’t really explored in the waking world, in particular the recurring bridge which just seems to be a place on the way to the more important locations.

There’s a long build-up to the spirit having direct contact or visibility to the audience once the family is established in the house but that works well and it’s not disappointing as the second half has plenty of actual appearances. The character with the most development is the lead woman, although some clearer closure could have been agreeable.

It’s a fairly standard story as far as ghost horror is concerned with many parallels to The Woman in Black (2012) to the point where even the revelations are a bit parochial. Even though there are clues to the back story, they’re literally thrown away as they come together which makes the ending unsatisfying and makes the investigation feel wasted.

4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

[jasonsutekh]

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Seven brothers who live in a remote cabin are in search of wives but their heavy-handed ways don’t impress the young women of the local town, or their families.

Several of the songs are at least amusing if not outright entertaining. Most rely on having a catchy chorus line or extended dance interludes. It was fortunate that after a while the men were differentiated with shirts of different colours that also contrast the townsfolk and woodland well.

Essentially the entire plot is deliberately sexist in which even redemptions are just rewarding unhealthy attitudes. Many of the more offensive and rape-like ideas are only fended off for a time by equally unhealthy religious doctrine which eventually leads them to get what they set out for in the first place as though it’s now justified.

It’s fortunate that the joviality of the movie wasn’t brought down by too much real violence, just hammy fist fights and mass kidnapping which are presented as comedic. There’s also a few moments of tactical conflict resolution which mark some of the very little development the characters receive.

In various ways the plot is similar to Beauty and the Beast, due to the kidnapping of women and the notable arc about Stockholm Syndrome setting in so that when the townspeople riot to rescue them they don’t want to leave anymore. It’s difficult to tell some of the characters apart at times but largely it doesn’t matter since they’re mostly just gender archetypes anyway.

3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

-All the actors portraying the brothers were chosen for their dancing ability except two, one of which was a singer, the other a former baseball player.

-At the start of “Wonderful Wonderful Day” birds take flight but one can be seen bumping into the backdrop.

-The brothers were made redheads mainly to distinguish them from the townspeople.

[jasonsutekh]

Aliens in the Attic (2009)

A group of kids on vacation discover that a small squad of aliens have landed and are after something in their basement.

 Most of the acting is fairly good quality, even from the younger actors which isn’t entirely surprising but the consistency is beneficial to the whole. The story develops well with a range of technology being revealed gradually and some fun action scenes which get more bizarre as the movie progresses.

 Some of the comedy is overdone at times, mainly for the older boyfriend who is a predominantly slapstick character. It’s in these scenes that the film appears to be talking down to the audience a little, especially since there are no heavier emotional scenes to balance it out. It must be assumed that the alien control device allows for some measure of invulnerability since the older lady’s body would have been destroyed by the fight scenes.

 One surprising aspect of a comedy film such as this is that the CGI was of a sufficiently high quality that the aliens blend well with their background and there are no scenes that especially break the suspension of disbelief. Even the climax works effectively enough and is of a larger scale. The message is also the traditional children’s cinema one of it being ok to be different and it still works as much as it did decades ago, probably because we’re still a trash species so it still has to be said.

 Two of the aliens appear to have an attraction to one another but in an abusive kind of way and it’s not clear that happens to them in the end. The invasion force as a whole is dealt with a little simply and the order to retreat is given by a subordinate which doesn’t seem like it should have worked as well as it did.

 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 -The working title was “They Came From Upstairs”.

[jasonsutekh]

Mortal Kombat (2021)

The champions of Earth are being hunted down before the tournament can begin but they may be saved by the last descendent of a bloodline thought destroyed.

Although it’s largely an action movie based around fantastical fights, this installment of the franchise included some good character-based storyline. The family of the protagonist was fairly generic although one got a good hit in. The effects easily maintain the entertainment value and there’s range to the classic characters without using them all in one go.

There are many fights of varying kinds but we don’t actually get to the kombat arena which doesn’t matter terribly but does suggest for some time that it’s leading up to something that doesn’t occur. Similarly, the main villain doesn’t get a proper fight scene, being spirited off at the end so that he can be addressed more in a possible sequel, which is a lot to promise in uncertain times.

The actors all suit the roles very well and some even succeed in making the roles their own. There is some development and twists for the characters, unlike earlier attempts, which makes this possibly the best Mortal Kombat so far. It held out and chose the right moments for some of the iconic lines and they worked effectively.

Even though there is a good deal of the franchise already explored, the film could have easily stood more explanation for some of the lore and rules involved, although more time would have been needed for it and it’d have had to be worked in intelligently. In particular, why did Sonya work out her power so quickly? Also, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, they didn’t milk the theme for long enough or heavily enough; a metal version could have banged.

4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

-When being led through the tunnels, the group pass Kitana’s fan, a reference to when Kitana led a group through the tunnels in the 1995 film.

-Sub-Zero’s regular name, “bi han” is Chinese for “to keep out the cold”.

-The ice blade was made of resin with a plastic wrap so it appeared to glisten in light like ice.

[jasonsutekh]

Basil: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

A young girl’s father is kidnapped by a criminal mastermind and only the great Baker Street detective and his new ally can assist, also they’re all vermin. As a parody it takes itself just seriously enough to work as a reasonable story in itself without devoting entirely to the comedy side. The story is also coherent while following the expected methods of a mystery story. The animation works very well and has enough range to to explore a little variety in style, in particular the villain who shows some various aspects. Although Vincent Price is an iconic villain and would easily make a wonderful Moriarty, the voice never quite fit the imagery, being a little too comical in some scenes. The protagonist was a little too distant from events to be truly relatable, ignoring both allies and the needs of victims. There was also an odd sexual reference which felt out of place. The villain’s voice works in some circumstances, in particular the fact that Ratigan wrote, composed, and performed an entire song for a murder scene which seems unusual for Price but showed that the antagonist really put the time in. There were a few brief amusing moments and it lead up to a fairly satisfying finale with enough aesthetic durability and threat to be enjoyable. Some aspects of the threat, such as being eaten by the cat were never as credible as they needed to be so the suspense wasn’t always as strong as it needed to be. The bat didn’t die when appeared it had suffered the certain death sentence, that’s acceptable for the heroes but a fluke henchman survival isn’t so effective. A couple of minor flaws were that it never quite committed to the puns and wasn’t as intense as a true Holmes adventure, with most of the science and deduction being deliberate jibberish. 5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average- -The last Disney feature film, to date, to be set mainly in England.-The voice of Basil Rathbone was used as the human Holmes from an archive recording.-Disney’s Dumbo briefly appears as one of the clockwork toys blowing bubbles.

[jasonsutekh]

Toy Story 1 (1995), 2 (1999), 3 (2010), of Terror (2013), That Time Forgot (2014), and 4 (2019)

A group of toys attempt to look after their owners and stay together.

One of the main strengths is that the scenes in which there are many toys don’t get too cluttered because there is a wide range of personalities and toy types. It’s also welcome that although there is the typical kid’s film emotional resolution each time, it’s also contrasted by horror aspects, some of which are pretty effective.

A key narrative trope is used for every film, the one of abandonment and closure, which has some small variations but is also repetitive but the characters are limited to this theme since they’re toys. The lore of sentience is also very vague in the franchise since a toy can be cannibalised and still sentient, made from random craft items, and they can divine information about the wider world for some subjects.

There are a few moments when the little oddities can be amusing, mainly in the form out unusually deductive observations or bizarre ideas. Some of the stories are effective because they partly explore a childhood perspective on life. The animation also develops as the franchise progresses, for example Bo Peep is made of china in the fourth installment which isn’t clear in earlier films.

Of the two short movies the better one is Of Terror since there is a threat and clearer goal, whereas That Time Forgot is a bit looser and a lot of the villains are similar. The fourth one is the weakest of the main films, largely because there isn’t a strong clear villain. It’s good to have that variety but it still makes it less effective.

Toy Story: 8/10 -It’s certainly worthy of very high praise!-

Toy Story 2: 8/10 -It’s certainly worthy of very high praise!-

Toy Story 3: 7/10 -Well above average, but no masterpiece-

Toy Story of Terror: 7/10 -Well above average, but no masterpiece-

Toy Story That Time Forgot: 6/10 -Just a cut above average-

Toy Story 4: 6/10 -Just a cut above average-

-Toy Story 1 was the first computer animated film to use full opening and closing credits.

-In the first film Woody goes after Buzz to save him, in the subsequent main films Buzz goes after Woody.

-Sid from the first film briefly appears in the 3rd one as a bin man.

[jasonsutekh]

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

A selfish miser is haunted by time travelling spirits who try to show him the error of his ways in time for Christmas day.

 The strongest aspect of this retelling was easily the animation style, in particular the expressive colour pallet and different aesthetic designs for the musical numbers. It was also an interesting effect how the song breaks distorted reality in reflective ways and either froze time or kept moving to show the character’s ethical journey.

 Most of the songs were fairly typical and few of them stood out as especially memorable, none would really be worth hearing out of the context of the film. The main reason they’re underwhelming is because the lyrics feel like they’re meant to be commercialised, hence the heavy emphasis on chorus lines that explain the intention of the song.

 Some of the voices were rather good and there were only a couple that didn’t quite fit the characters. It was a little weird, for example how Christmas Present was American. There was also a little variation to this version of the story which is always welcome for a narrative told so many times and the differences were small so it still felt true.

 The attempt at humour at times actually came out weaker than if it hadn’t really tried, the most notable element of this was the tedious gag characters like the little devils which didn’t enhance the scene but dissipated any drama. Much of the other comedic moments relied on basic meanness from or towards Scrooge which didn’t land well since that’s just the story.

 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 -At one point a poster for Oliver Twist can be seen, like this film the story was written by Charles Dickens.

-A variation on this version, different to the novel, is that Scrooge grows up working in a bottling plant while his father is in debt prison, this is based on Dickens’ life.

[jasonsutekh]

The Smurfs 1 (2011) and 2 (2013)

The evil wizard Gargamel is attempting to kidnap smurfs to power his magic but when they’re stranded in a big city a small family offers their help to the blue critters.

 Even though there’s a growing discrepancy between the live action elements and the animation in these fusion films this one works out alright, especially in the grander scenes where the effects are permitted some scale and in this respect both are fairly consistent. The villain is also threatening enough while also enjoyable as a character to follow in some scenes.

 It’s a little more difficult in the first film to have sympathy for the protagonist since his main fault is something he cannot change, being clumsy, so the lines about being what you want don’t really work since you can’t choose to change clumsiness or it wouldn’t exist as a thing. The comedy in both films are somewhat limited and the same tropes of humour are used and get old quickly, with a few exceptions. Also with only one song to draw on, it’s a wonder the villain isn’t driven madder than he’s portrayed.

 The sequel was more effective in terms of family connection as there were two main storylines that reflected each other and both were fairly strong so the emotions were more worthy of investment. It was really nice that the actors were consistent between the two films as it made the sequel easier to get into since we already know all the characters, plus the new additions the the cast worked out well.

 Changing the line-up of the smurfs ended up worse since Vanity smurf doesn’t have the capacity of the main character, he was pretty useless and his one joke is that he loves himself which was repeated over a dozen times, a decent joke can go maybe three times, ideally with some development or subversion but this was the same gag over and over. The cat also was very limited and a typical animal sidekick with only a few coarsely amusing moments.

 The Smurfs: 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 The Smurfs 2: 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 -Due to the better animation facilities we get to see the smurfs’ irises which are light blue, unlike the cartoon or comics.

-The sequel marks the first Sony Animation film to have a female protagonist.

-According to the lore laid down by the animators, the smurfs can jump between 4-12 inches high and can run a terrifying 10 feet per second.

[jasonsutekh]

The Hangover 1 (2009), 2 (2011), and 3 (2013)

A group of friends wake up to find their lives a mess and no memory of how they go there, retracing their steps may be the only way to find who they’ve lost.

 Much of the appeal of these films is the juvenile humour reinforced by the more bizarre aspects of the story and how the unexpected gets explained. The mystery unravels slowly, sometimes adding more confusing elements along the way with small clues to follow and the guarantee of closure eventually. The complexity of the initial awakening is eventually satisfying when all the events are linked up.

 As is the danger with sequels, the second one is mostly a repeat of the first one, with some original elements even recurring and bringing little new except changes in details. The third tries to break this formula by being more of a heist film, however the kidnapping elements is still reminiscent of its predecessor and without the wake-up scene it doesn’t open with the same impact.

 There are many unusual characters and it’s often their odd qualities which make them more likeable, however this gets harder with Alan as it’s revealed how mean he is to people. Many of the lines are funny, usually miscommunications or exclamations about the circumstances. The reveal is an effective technique used several times in the franchise, usually when there’s a clever solution to a long-standing question.

 Several attempts at emotion are made throughout the series but the characters have been set up as too strange for it to work well. There are a few deliberately offensive lines, usually from characters shown to be consistently wrong or bad but they aren’t always challenged. It’s a little sad that Doug is part of the main group in all three films but is always left out of the adventures.

 The Hangover: 6/10 -Just a cut above average-

 The Hangover 2: 6/10 -Just a cut above average-

 The Hangover 3: 5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-

 -Mike Tyson reportedly owns a total of 7 tigers.

-The original script had Alan with a shaved beard instead of a shaved head but the actor refused.

-The actor playing Alan reportedly lost so much weight before the third film that he had to wear a prosthetic belly.

[jasonsutekh]

Orphée (Orpheus) (1950)

A poet sees his competitor killed and falls in love with the spirit of death until his girlfriend is taken to the underworld and he must venture there to rescue her.

 Although the narrative is just as effective and has the gravitas of the original telling, it also easily works as an effects spectacle movie with some interesting techniques of silhouettes and temporal editing. It changes the traditional story in a way that modernises it but without losing the emotion or message of love and humility.

 The main love story was somewhat distorted by the best character being Death; at times we’re more encouraged to route for her than Eurydice and spend a great deal longer aligned with her. The protagonist is contrary to the legend in that he’s far more rash and aggressive without the redeeming heroic elements like focused love or soul.

 Most of the plot is still roughly true to the source but it’s enjoyable to see how some of the lore is adapted and how the changes affect the implications of death and our relationship with the afterlife, particularly it being accessible through mirrors. There’s a fun parallel between life and poetry, especially when the word-smith becomes obsessed by death.

 Some homoerotic subtext feels present in some scenes, mostly through lingering gazes and searching looks and this could have been more prominent or related to the story more. There’s no conclusion for the characters that begin dead which suits in an odd way but still leaves the motives of the chauffeur vague.

 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 -The hands passing through the mirror effect was created using a vat of mercury.

-The coded poetry is a references to the BBC transmitting messages to the French resistance during World War Two.

[jasonsutekh]

Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001)

An evil witch becomes a wife and stepmother but is too obsessed with being the most beautiful in the land so seeks to destroy her new family.

 It’s often refreshing to see a new spin on an old story but each successive new spin has to be more inventive which leads it further away from the classic material. This retelling is more sensitive to the shorter characters, although they still end up carrying much of the comic relief. There’s also some interesting background for the magic and an explanation as to how it all came together.

 In every scene the view is over-exposed to make it look more like a fairytale, however it gets very distracting and whenever the darker elements are introduced they lose their impact because everything is far too bright and sunny. The narrative mixes together elements of a few stories which also makes it a little busy and allows the characters to essentially cheat their way out of most situations.

 There’s a good range of magic abilities so there’s often something visually entertaining, even if the CGI doesn’t quite meet with any high standards. There’s little actual comedy in the film and most of it isn’t even terribly amusing apart from some of the acting which is competent, the best it gets is mildly pleasant.

 Although there’s a good cast, several of the actors were underused and few got to express much range. Most of the action isn’t due to positive decision making which made it feel as though the characters were at the mercy of the narrative rather than having to actually do anything. This also made the ending underwhelming since they didn’t deliberately achieve anything.

 3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

[jasonsutekh]

In a Lonely Place (1950)

A screenwriter with a temper is accused of murder but is exonerated by his neighbour who promptly falls in love with him but she may let herself in for more that she can deal with.

 A bigger mystery than the one presented by the narrative is why this film is so acclaimed. There are a very few and tenuous redeeming features for it like the occasional cinematography technique or a lighting arrangement that illuminates a face during a dramatic, sinister speech. The mystery also has a vague attraction which could have worked out in a 25 minute serial.

 Despite the uncertainty encouraged by the story, there’s not much suspense since it’s not clear who the guilty party is and even if the protagonist is innocent, he’s still presented as aggressive enough that it makes little difference. The presented intrigue is not compelling since we’re not offered actual clues and the action scenes are repetitive, broken up by long sequences of typical dialogue and some very cringe amateur writing from our main character.

 Bogart gets to sparsely and briefly express some emotion, exclusively as violence, but it doesn’t work as a romantic lead, it may even be tenuous as his usual down-trodden anti-hero of dubious methods he’s more known for. The ending at least isn’t typical but in the meta-textual spirit of the plot it reverses the conclusion given by the novel on which this adaptation is based.

 The main drawback is easily that the pace is so slow, at times being really hard work to get from scene to scene. A classic 50s flaw in the character development is that the relationship is entirely toxic so one doesn’t route for it no matter how much it’s circumstantially pushed for or the horrible characters appear to deserve each other.

 2/10 -It’s not THE worst, that’s something else. But…-

 -The actors playing protagonist and love interest were 24 years apart in age. Both died at aged 57.