Reviews by djprojexion

The Wraith is a revenge flick like no other. It's kind of like Mad Max meets The Exterminator. So much awesomeness in this movie from the cars to the music. It's pure 80's, cheesy at times but with a lot of charm. Oddly while given top billing, Charlie Sheen only appears in the movie in small doses not counting scenes of The Wraith all suited up. But luckily 80's uber-babe Sherilyn Fenn gets a lot of screen time, and this is tan, blonde highlights Sherilyn Fenn before she went all goth in the 90's. Nick Cassavetes is the leader of the gearhead punks, sort of like a Brooklyn toughguy dropped in the middle of the Nevada desert. Randy Quaid plays the sheriff and he likes to drive points home by decapitating paper dolls. Point taken, Randy. Car chases and explosions abound, a mysterious disappearing leg brace, and Clint Howard looking like Eraserhead. All that adds up to some great late-night popcorn fun. Enjoy the ride.

While Mad Max 3 doesn't quite have the cult status of its two predecessors, I would argue that it's by far the most fun of the three. This movie is pure 80's Action/Adventure amusement park escapism. The proceedings are beefed up thanks to a hefty American budget, Tina Turner on board chewing the hell out of every scene she's in, and Mel doing what he does best. The tribe of lost children is also a nice addition to the series, kind of like the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. All in all, it invokes fond memories of being a kid for me and still holds up pretty well to today's standards.

I tracked this movie down mainly because I had a huge crush on Olivia d'Abo when I was a kid after seeing her in Conan The Destroyer. Other than The Wonder Years, I never really saw her in anything else back then. This movie definitely delivers for fans of hers. For example, there is a scene where she goes for a swim in a wife beater. Yeah, think Jacqueline Bisset in The Deep. Aside from that, the movie is a waste of time. It's your typical Deliverance, Southern Comfort backwoods baddies kind of story reduced to made-for-tv level nonsense. Plus there's even a laughable, Mr. Miyagi Indian dude who mentors the main character.

I had never heard of this movie before, but gave it a chance based on the director and fight choreographer who both have a strong catalog of wacky, fun kung fu movies. This movie does not disappoint. Awesome fight scenes, stylish camera tricks, and a solid Karate Kid-like storyline makes this a must see. It's basically Fight Club at a school for bad kids. There is some cheesy teen romance elements that kind of put a damper on things, but overall it's what you would expect from 90's era Tai Seng.

Wake In Fright is an early Ozploitation curiosity piece that feels more like a drug movie (in this case the drug being alcohol, and lots of it!) than the Outback thriller that the title and poster suggests. The main character (looking like an Aussie version of Thomas Jane) is on holiday from his job as a school teacher and one beer and a little gambling sends him down the rabbit hole of Outbackland. Soon enough he's getting wasted with the locals, murdering defenseless kangaroos, and rolling around on the floor with Donald Pleasence. None of which is safe nor very attractive. There's not much of a plot really, and you only keep watching to see what can happen next. It's a strange journey and at times you have no idea where it will take you. In terms of similar films, I thought of Straw Dogs and Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, overall it just had that Peckinpah feel to it.

Werner Herzog works his documentarian magic again with this story of a senseless triple homicide over a stolen car. Although Herzog is clearly opposed to capital punishment, he still manages to to show how this incident affects everyone involved from the family members to the personnel. Pure Herzog moments abound, such as the camera staying on a person even after they finished talking, crime scene footage revealing that the victim was baking cookies at the moment they were killed, the stolen car in question had a tree growing through it while at the police impound, etc. It all adds up to another creepy yet riveting Herzog experience.

Okay, first of all who the hell is that guy on the poster? I don't remember seeing him in the movie. Is he there to insinuate that this is a scary teen-horror flick? If so, that's some damn false advertising right there.

Anyhoo, I thought this movie would deliver some late-night popcorn fun, but not much happens in this post-apocalyptic world. It's kind of like a group of prepubescent teens did a remake of The Road Warrior at a drive-in. The lead character is a scrawny wimp who never really becomes the hero you expect him to be (kind of like Sharlto Copely in District 9). Instead he just wanders around, gets into mild confrontations, and pisses and moans about being stuck at the drive-in.

The final fifteen minutes features some great car chases and explosions but it's really too little, too late. The guy even leaves his hot girlfriend (she looks like a younger, hotter Lucy Lawless) behind, instant face palm!

What do you call a movie that is neither a sequel nor a prequel, yet the events take place both before, during, and after the events of the first movie? Answer, I have no fucking clue. Right off the bat the title urks me, I mean the 300 are dead and really have nothing to do with this movie.

Xerxes is given an interesting back story but its all in vain, he is virtually absent for most of the movie. The visuals aren't as clean and rich, which is a shame because it comes a whole eight years after the original was made.
The only saving grace is Eva Green as Artemisia. Green is totally committed to the part and exudes sexiness and badassery in equal measure.

Bottom line, see it to fulfill that fantasy you always had of seeing Eva Green in a role like this. That is all.