A bumper crop of movie reviews this time. I really have too much time on my hands.
Salem's Lot
Another Stephen King adaption. David Soul stars as Ben Mears, a writer who returns to his hometown of Salem's Lot. He then discovers that the townfolk are being turned into vampires.
Not a good start to this batch of reviews. This was the 1979 mini-series, and it was slow! It was boring too. So boring in fact that I actually fell asleep. The only think I found remarkable was that Bonnie Bedelia played the love interest. She was John McClane's estranged wife in the first two Die Hard movies. Apart from that the whole thing was pretty unremarkable. If the mini-series adaption of Stephen King's works are this boring, I don't think I'm going to bother with the others. I'll stick to the movies, thank you.
The Shadow
Alec Baldwin stars as Lamont Cranston (love that name), who uses his psychic powers to make up for the atrocities that he committed earlier in his life. Shiwan Khan, the last surviving descendant of Genghis Khan, is causing trouble in New York. He aims to conquer the world with the help of a kidnapped scientist and an atomic bomb. Ian McKellen plays said scientist. Penelope Ann Miller plays the scientist's daughter Margo, Lamont's love interest, who also seems to have psychic powers. Tim Curry plays the scientist's treacherous assistant.
Now, this is more like it. A thoroughly enjoyable movie with a bit of a Batman vibe. Although, I think the original work this movie was based on dates from before Batman. Alec Baldwin is suitably dapper as Lamont Cranston and his heroic alter ego. Yes, Alec Baldwin did used to make movies before he made us laugh in 30 Rock. Tim Curry is a lot of fun too. You always know you're in for a hammy old time whenever he's in a movie. A good family superhero movie. However, some parts of the movie might be a bit too scary for the wee ones.
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Dolph Lundgren and Brandon (son of Bruce) Lee star as L.A. cops Mark Kenner and Johnny Murata, who attempt to take down a new and dangerous Yakuza drug gang.
This movie was directed by Mark L. Lester, the same guy that directed the awesomeness that was the Schwarzenegger movie Commando. You know you're in good hand with a director like that. The two leads are likable as they crack jokes and male bond while the kill the bad guys. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is a hissably evil bad guy. Kenner has a personal vendatta against the guy, seeing that he killed Kenner's parents back in Japan.
The action is topnotch throughout. From a martial arts fight in a bathhouse to a katana showdown in the middle of a parade. It's good, violent stuff. There's a fair bit of female nudity too if you like boobs with your blood.
I don't feel that it's fair to refer Brandon Lee as only Bruce Lee's son, however. He may have only appeared in a few movies before his untimely death due to an onset accident during the filming of The Crow, but he is as much of a legitimate movie star as his late father. If you want to see Brandon Lee kicking arse on his own, I recommend Rapid Fire. A very good action thiller in itself.
Sleepwalkers
Charles Brady and his mother are soul-sucking cat creatures called Sleepwalkers. They feed upon the souls of virginal girls. They movie into the town of Travis, Indiana and target Tanya for food. Also, they're vulnerable to the scratch of a cat. Pretty lame, right?
Not really a Steephen King adaption this one, but he did write the script. This was much for enjoyable than Salem's Lot I didn't fall asleep during this. It was nice and bloody too with a few inventive deaths thrown in. One poor deputy is stabbed in the back with an ear of corn. Is that even possible. Oh, who cares. It was pretty neat.
Being a movie written by Stephen King, you know that most of the adults will be worse than useless. The state troopers here are no exception. The only adult who is of any sort of use is one deputy who is quickly killed off partway through. The only characters that are of any use are the cats. No, really. The cats save the day. It was still a pretty enjoyable movie. It does become a bit awkward, though. Charles and his mother are a bit too close, if you catch my drift.
Slithers
An alien parasite lands in rural America and takes over the body of a local man, Grant Grant. The possessed Grant then impregnates a local woman, who gives birth to a load of slug-like creatures which go on to infect the rest of the town. It's up to the local police sheriff (played by Nathan Fillion), Grant's wife (Elizabeth Banks), the potty-mouthed mayor and a local teen girl to stop the alien menace before it can infect the whole planet.
This movie seems to be a callback to the cheesy, gory horror movies of the 80s. The sort of movies that never took themselves too seriously. Obviously, this movie isn't for the faint of heart. There is a lot of gore and more gooey stuff going on throughout.
Nathan Fillion is lovably rubbish as the heroic sheriff. Not his acting, I mean the character. He shows up in a blaze of glory ready to rescue the love interest, but he is swatted away with hardly any effort by the alien beastie. More often than not he's the one who ends up being rescued. A wonderfully gory, fun time. Highly recommended.
Next time: Theatre of Blood
