moondragon85501 Reviews

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

PROFOUNDLY disappointed

[19 July 2004]

"The Blair Witch Project" was creepy enough to creep into your dreams; BW2 will just put you to sleep. And if ever a movie deserved to be slept through, it's this sequel.

CAUTION--SPOILER AHEAD!!

Director Joe Berlinger said something about his movie being a comment on cultural hysteria. It's clear that he was bothered by the popularity of the first movie and wanted to burst the bubble for everyone. He robbed Blair Witch fans of the freedom to suspend their disbelief, which is a really dirty trick to pull on audiences (and other film-makers). Berlinger's plot revolved around a bunch of college kids whose enthusiasm for the Blair Witch turns them all into maniacal murderers; he was making a Blair Witch version of "Reefer Madness".

Dragonslayer (1981)

one of the best

[6 July 2004]

Dragonslayer came out when "Dungeons & Dragons" was getting to be a big thing where I live, so there was a lot of interest. It was even adapted into a book by Wayland Drew (in a rare instance when a movie preceded a book).

Two things I like mainly. First, of course: Vermithrax. I rather hope that Dragonslayer is never remade, for there's no way the digital animation done these days could do this magnificent creature justice. New isn't always better.

It's also nice to see a film which doesn't stereotype Pagans and magicians as evil. In fact, the film treads the whole good-evil line rather lightly; Ulrich displays a certain respect for Vermithrax, even while planning the dragon's demise.

I find it easy to be swept up in the lovely mystery of Dragonslayer: a mystical film from 1981 (a more mystical age).

Valley of the Dragons (1961)

Long time, no see

[30 June 2004]

This movie was on fairly regularly when I was a kid; my cousin and I would frequently watch it together (she didn't share my enthusiasm for the animal skin-clad women, but she loved a scene where one of the cavemen gets eaten by a dragon).

It was years later that I saw One Million B.C. for the first time; I knew it was hailed as a classic, but while I found it enjoyable (I fell in love with Carole Landis), VOTD still held more of a mystique for me.

I have since looked for it in various video rental places with no success. It seems that these days even the networks aim for more sophisticated fare and overlook simpler joys like this. Just because the movies have graduated to Jurassic Park shouldn't mean that we can't suspend our disbelief for a brief period. VOTD should not be allowed to become extinct!