‘Poltergeist’ 1982 Review – AMC Fearfest

• Plot: A family’s home is haunted by a host of ghosts.
• Director: Tobe Hooper
• Writers: Steven Spielberg (screenplay), Michael Grais(screenplay), and 2 more credits »
• Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke and Craig T. Nelson | See full cast and crew

Story: ‘Poltergeist’. What kind of a name is that? It sound so weird and foreign. And for a matter of fact, I believe it is in fact German. Believe it or not, before my high school film teacher had us watch this film in class, I had no idea this movie even existed. But oh boy, oh boy, I do not know how I never knew about this film.

It’s about a ordinary family that is being haunted by a bunch of ghosts who are pissed off since a construction company built the house on a former graveyard and moved the tombstones… but not the bodies.

This film has some pretty intense and frightening moments in it. Probably the worst for me being when one of the scientists goes into the bathroom and rips his face off in the mirror. People used to and still do have nightmares about this.

As a side note, this film is also said to be cursed. It is said that they used real skeletons for the climax scene in the ditch and when the bodies rise out of the water and inside the house since it was cheaper than creating fake skeletons. The scene with the skeletons is much more creepier if you know about this. add to the fact that this film might be cursed, two actors have died not too long after the film came out. The first being Dominique Dunn, who was killed by her boyfriend in the same year the film came out, 1992. The second being Heather O’Rourke who died of a disease at age twelve during the end of production for the third installment of the Poltergeist trilogy.

Music: There is something about Spielberg movies that make it so good. From the camera angles,  the 80s and 90s atmosphere and people, and the music. The music for all Spielberg films make the film so much better. This film in particular had so much impactful movie. It was one of the best parts.

Cast & Characters: As for the creepy old and midget lady, once I first saw her and heard her start talking. I was thinking “Crap, she’s gonna ruin the movie”. But to my surprise, she was in fact funny and fit the party very well since she still gave that sense of being intelligent and wise and knowing exactly what she was doing. Heather O’Rourke was the star of the movie obviously. That creepy “They’re here!” was so awesome and cute, I mean who didn’t giggle or go “What the f*ck” at that. She was perfect for the part.

Verdict: One of the defining moments in horror and paranormal activity films, ‘Poltergeist’ stills stands today as one of the greatest and most frightening films to give you a good scare.

Karen Allen Talks ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Possibilities

 

Not too long ago, Indiana Jones star Karen Allen was interviewed. She was asked if she would accept to reprise her role in yet another Indiana Jones film to which she replied:

“I would… and I, in fact, just talked with Steven Spielberg recently. We emailed back and forth, and I said, ‘What should I say? I’m doing this publicity thing, what should I say if people ask me that question?’”

“He said, ‘It’s in George’s hands! I’m game, Harrison’s game, and now it’s up to George to write the script or to get the script organized, and the story.’ They want to do a fifth, from what I understand, but they don’t want to do it just to do it, they want to do it if they can come up with a story that everybody is happy with and that everybody likes.”

So for those who want a fifth Indiana Jones film and actually liked the fourth one like myself, this is good news. Karen Allen confirms that director Steven Spielberg, Indiana himself, Harrison Ford, and herself are all ‘game’ and are just waiting for George Lucas to ever write a script and think up a good story.

Chances are, George Lucas probably will get a story going and we’ll get ‘Indiana Jones 5’ within the next 5 years or so.

In other news, buy the complete set for the ‘Indiana Jones’ series in stores now!

‘Revolution’ Season 1 Premiere Review – 1.01

 

I wasn’t really impressed by this to be honest. I didn’t really expect to be either. NBC never has any good shows. Despite this being a JJ Abrams produced and Jon Favreau directed show, it just didn’t work for me.

The power going out should’ve gone on through the whole first episode or something, because I loved the atmosphere of that instead of the whole going back to wild wild west styles. There was wayyy too much going on in this episode. One minute the dad dies and says they need to go to Chicago to find his brother, so they pack up for 5 minutes, we see two shots of them walking through the forest then BAM. They’re in Chicago now. Then they see a hotel. They go in, very first man they talk to, BAM, just happens to be the one they’re looking for.

And her stupid brother who I think deserves to be killed already. The guy isn’t smart at all. The black soldier guy was right, his father’s blood was on his own hands. His stupidity caused all of that.

This episode had all of those “OH CRAP” twist moments, but they did not seem as though they were. The writing for this was horrible. The timeline of events in this episode could have spanned through the first 5-10 episodes if they did it right. Then the boy she meets at the lake. She meets him, he joins them on their quest before she is raped in the back of a plane, then they’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Then her uncle discovers he’s militia, and he’s like “Shoot, they’re onto me!” and runs away. Then he comes back, tries to get them all killed, but spares the girl. If that girl ends up trusting him to let him back on the team or even goes out with him, she will officially be the stupidest girl on television.

As for the mysterious black lady who knows how to deal with asthma attacks. What was the point of the whole computer communication at the end besides telling us that she has something to do with the power outage? The conversation was literally:

1 – They came here.

2 – Did they find it?

1 – No.

2 – Ok.

Verdict: Even with big names such as JJ Abrams and Jon Favreau, the premiere episode had horrible writing and had a horrible timeline. The concept it cool, they can still fix this with some better choices.

See the preview to episode 2, which premieres next Monday @ 10 PM on NBC.

If James Cameron Made Jurassic Park

All the time, people always wonder. ”What if (insert director’s name) made (insert cool movie idea)?’ Or ‘What if (insert actor’s name) played (insert character’s name) in (insert movie title)?’ Well, what if James Cameron made Jurassic Park?

“I tried to buy the book rights and he beat me to it by a few hours,” said Cameron. “But when I saw the film, I realized that I was not the right person to make the film, he was. Because he made a dinosaur movie for kids, and mine would have been Aliens with dinosaurs, and that wouldn’t have been fair.”

Of course, everyone loves Jurassic Park. It’s a great movie for everyone to see with amazing visual effects for it’s time and an amazing conept. Aliens with dinosaurs might not have been as popular, since it would not have been apealling to younger people and just to adults. Like James Cameron says, “that wouldn’t have been fair”.

“Dinosaurs are for 8-year-olds. We can all enjoy it, too, but kids get dinosaurs and they should not have been excluded for that. His sensibility was right for that film, I’d have gone further, nastier, much nastier.”

Of course, Jurassic Park had its nasty parts too with dinosaurs eating people and Samuel L. Jackson’s arm. It was also intense with the dinosaurs coming after the people and kids and eating guys while they’re on the toilet. Personally, I do think if James Cameron did make Jurassic Park, it would not be anywhere as good mainly because he’s looking into a horror or really intense suspense for adults.

‘Lincoln’ Trailer #1 Review – January 25, 2013

Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Forrest Gump’s mom (Sally Field)… CAN THIS GET ANY BETTER?

When I reviewed the teaser to this trailer a couple days ago, I expected another ‘War Horse’. But no, my thoughts have been changed. The cast for this film is phenomenal. So many great actors packed into one movie. It’s like The Dark Knight Rises but with a Spielberg and retro American style to it.

Plus, it’s a Spielberg film. You can never go wrong with him. Even is ‘ok’ or ‘bad’ movies are better than a lot of films these days. The cinematography and look of the film is beautiful too. Daniel Day Lewis looks like Abraham Lincoln and I am stoked to see those war scenes on the big screen.

‘Lincoln’ hits theaters January 25, 2013.

‘Lincoln’ Trailer Teaser Review – January 25, 2013

No, it’s not a teaser trailer. It’s a trailer teaser. BIG DIFFERENCE. I know. That’s the new trend these days. Have a teaser for the teaser trailer to your own movie. It’s a teaser, within a teaser. INCEPTION. Nah, I joke. Most of the people who make those jokes either haven’t seen Inception, or have seen it but do not understand it very good or even at all.

Although just about 25 seconds of footage along with a voice over of some man speaking very patriotic quotes about not forgetting those who died. All we see is various shots of the back of Lincoln’s head. I know, very exciting. Let just hope that we get more in the next teaser to the teaser to the teaser of the teaser of the teaser…

The full trailer will go live before a Google+ hangout with Spielberg and cast member Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Thursday at 4 PDT PM.

‘Super 8’ 2011 Review – Movie Wednesday

Story: This is a very unique film. Very much like a Steven Spielberg film. This film has established JJ Abrams as a truly great director to me. Well, not exactly perfectly great, but on the verge. He’s on the right track. This story is also unique from other ones. Sure, it’s an alien story in the 70s, but it’s not like other alien stories. It’s in a small town where everything goes missing. Slowly building up the tension. And we only get glimpses of the alien barely throughout the movie. It keeps us on the edge of our seat the whole time wanting to see the alien and wondering what it will do next.

Visuals: This film has amazing cinematography. The color correction and grading make it even better. A blue and orangish color pallete they worked on was very cool. The alien was also very unique and different, which was cool. The only think I didn’t like was how the last part of the film, the ending, looked like it was on a set with a green screen. It just looked like it too much for some reason.

Music: Michael Giachinno did a wonderful job here. He’s one of those up and coming new composers. I know he does a lot of work for Pixar too. I bought this soundtrack and still listen to it all the time.

Characters: You really felt for the characters here. You could connect with them. You knew what Joe and Alice were thinking when they looked and talked with each other. And Alice’s father, you knew what she was going through. I knew when I started watching the movie that Elle Fanning was playing Alice, Dakota Fanning’s sister because she was albino white. No offense.

Rewatch Value: A truly unique film. Spielberg-esque. Amazing.

Jurassic Park 4 Finally Moving Forward With 2014 Release

Here I am again with some more Spielberg related news! But this time it’s good news! (Assuming you thought the Indiana Jones news earlier was bad news, like me).

Producer Frank Marshall spoke on Jurassic Park 4 after saying the Indiana Jones fifth film idea is indeed dead.

“It’s got new life. It’s in development,” he said. “I can tell you that that is moving forward.” Lets hope he’s right about that, or he will be mobbed by fans.

There were many rumors that the government would weaponsize the dinosaurs. Marshall also disproved those rumors, “No, no, that’s another rumor,” he said. “That’s not it.”

Some people may not like the idea of another Jurassic Park 4. Some people even think it’s gonna be like the Star Wars prequels. Come to think of it, this situation is similiar to when everyone wanted a Star Wars prequel trilogy. George Lucas claimed technology had advanced enough for the things he wanted to do, so he put forth his prequel trilogy that almost no one likes, but me. Hey, I like Indiana Jones 4 and the Star Wars prequel trilogy! What do you know! 😀

“That’s what’s gonna be great about it, technology’s taken a leap now that we can really do some great things,” he said but added that practical dinosaurs help both the audience and the actors.

‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have been tasked to write the fourth installmen to the hit franchise. Steven Spielberg has confirmed that he will not direct this film, like he didn’t do the third one either. He only directed the first two.

Marshal said they’re expecting the film to premiere in Summer 2014, so that means we should get news of a director in no time. Stay tuned, people. The best is yet to come.

Will There Be Indiana Jones 5?

Whenever a movie drops into the box office and everyone hates it, I usually just happen to love it. That’s what happened with “Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull”. Everyone hated that thing to death. Anybody else like it besides myself? No? No? Dang it…

Well, Indiana Jones 5 rumors have been circling around the internet for a long time now. Creators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg along with members of the cast and crew have been interviewed about the idea and gave us the impression that it a fifth film would be made some day.

IGN said after an interview with Steven Spielberg,  “Spielberg indicated that LaBeouf has to make multiple Transformers movies before he can move over and take on the fedora and bullwhip of Indiana Jones.”

“Am I into it? Who wouldn’t be? I don’t think that’s reality. It’s a fun rumor.” Shia LaBeouf said. He seems to be all for a fifth film. Ford then said he would return for a fifth film if it doesn’t take another twenty years to develop.

Steven Spielberg then commented yet again saying “only if you [the audience] wants more”.

Time magazine then interviewed Harrsion Ford on if he would let Shia take over the fedora to which he responded, “What are you talking about? It’s mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat.”

George Lucas then said that he was thinking “to make Shia LaBeouf the lead character next time and have Harrison Ford come back like Sean Connery did in The Last Crusade.” At the time Last Crusade was filmed, Connery was 58 while Ford was “65 and did everything in this movie [Crystal Skull]. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me.”

Lucas also joked about a spin-off of the series, “Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis or something.”

“I’d hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them.”  Ford said after being asked if he would return if Indiana Jones was turned into a animated film like “The Clone Wars”. He also called Lucas’ concept for the fifth film “crazy but great”.

So up until now we’ve been panting like dogs (some of the us… the cool people) on if there will be another Indiana Jones film. The latest development on a fifth film came by a couple days ago:

Producer Frank Marshall said in an interview with Crave Online, “As far as I know he’s not writing a fifth Indy,” said Marshall. Interesting considering Spielberg as well as actor Harrison Ford have told the press he is. But he continued.

“I think he’s thinking about ideas but he’s certainly not writing one. We’d love to keep the series going but again it’s got to be a really good story. They’re hard to do. I say, for me, [Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is] the last hurrah. I know that yes, we talk about it, but there’s no idea, there’s no MacGuffin… [Lucas] isn’t [hungry to do another Indiana Jones].”

Maybe Marshall just doesn’t have the connections to Lucas, Spielberg, or Ford? I hope that is the case, or these statements of his could be true and we may never get the long rumored fifth Indiana Jones film.

So was 2008’s “The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” the last we’ll ever see of Indiana Jones? Was that ending good enough for such a hero? Are you still hoping for a fifth film or are you glad it is supposedly dead? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!