spastickitchen Reviews

This Is 40 (2012)

You could make better use of your time

[2/10 · 16 April 2013]

I typically enjoy dramas and comedies in the niche of this film, but this particular film has some serious problems for me:

1. A comedy film should have some laughs. This film did have a few (about three) funny scenes: A. The scene at the principal's office. B. The vacation scene. C. The scene when Debbie met her employee for lunch to accuse her of stealing. I say "funny" as the perceived intention, though, because I only personally found humor in one of those three scenes.

2. If the film is then assumed to be a drama, it should have character development, a plot, a climax, etc., yet the film has a character development coefficient of zero. Throughout the film, the characters face many dilemmas, yet they learn nothing from the experience. The behavior of these characters never adjusts, and there is no "moral of the story" as I saw. The plot is the same as I just said, with no particular development of greater story themes, so there is no development put forth to the audience. In fact, some of the scenes do not even flow into each other, leaving the viewer somewhat disoriented. In terms of a climax, I did not perceive one, and the opportunity for some climactic scene when Pete is in an accident and gets beat up really begged for some sort of climax, yet the whole situation just fizzled out without a bang, much like the rest of the movie. This left me feeling as though I simply could have just spent the last two hours doing anything else and it could have been more enjoyable.

So if you are reading this review in order to decide whether or not to watch this film, I suggest rather to clean your windows, or paint that awning over the front porch, as it will probably give you much more enjoyment than this film, if you are anything like me. Or watch a better-reviewed comedy or drama, if you prefer.

Corn (2004)

I was confused.

[6/10 · 30 November 2004]

I felt this movie was unique in so many ways: they tried very hard to make the story scientifically sound, and did much better than most killer food movies. The sheep gore at the processing plant was a powerful device. Jenna Malone once again brought her character to life.

The film was also very confusing as characters were followed closely for a short time, then forgotten. Much of the foreshadowing effects never paid off, and when the credits rolled, I felt very mislead. What happened to the scientist lady with the plant? What was the reason for the reoccurring dream with the bloody bed? Why did the doctor need to run tests? Was her child healthy? What happened to the corn people after they took the corn away? I felt as though I could draw no conclusions at all. Also the fire looked fake at the end but I really didn't care.

Watch this movie if you like documentary-style b-grade horror movies with open endings and no violence. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't recommend it.

6/10

The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)

Nostalgic Horror

[9/10 · 27 November 2004]

I loved this movie when I was little and I still love it! The image of the unseen 'thing' in the closet is a great device. All of the irony is great. There are more ironic films but this was 1962!

The characters are great, maybe not very deep, but they are multi-dimensional. The plot is pretty good. The production was great! I love the special effects (blood etc). It is an old film, so you don't expect much maybe.

I enjoyed this film and wouldn't mind seeing more like it! I always was confused at the title though. The beginning and end titles don't match!

9/10

Unhinged (1982)

Unedited is more like it

[1/10 · 27 November 2004]

Did anyone edit this film? Or was it only the DVD release that had huge thirty second gaps between scenes? It's OK though, I fell asleep watching it the first time. Then I fell asleep the second time and the third time. The plot is actually not the worst I've seen, but it's close. The acting is not the worst I've seen either...but it's close. The production .... well, I can honestly say that it was the worst I had ever seen in my life! Not trying to be spiteful, but Unhinged could have used some more production.

Please don't think I'm a hater of horror films, or even that I didn't enjoy this film. I just felt I was laughing at the film much more than I felt I was laughing along with it. The gruesome moments were not too poorly done, but could have been done better even with a shoestring budget.

Characters seemed awkwardly developed, or ignored all together, twist ending was pretty bad, and the exposition took forever without exposing much.

I'd recommend avoiding this movie.

1/10

The Doorway (2000)

A healthy mix for the eclectic

[8/10 · 27 November 2004]

Come on? What horror movie is actually scary? I find them all laughable. This film meshed quite well with my warped sense of humor. If you want to have your pants scared off, come spend a night or two in Detroit! No, seriously, I found this film enjoyable, but I am warped. Let's break down what The Doorway has to offer:

Acting: No academy awards here, but the acting is lively and organic for its genre.

Special effects: Yeah they're campy, but you have to work with what you have and I felt this was done nicely as the effects were not distractingly cheap.

Script: I thought the script was rather good. Are there clichés? Definitely! But art is worthless if it doesn't relate to something old. Was it weird? Sure, but that's where the excitement comes into play. I particularly enjoyed the ending.

Continuity: No significant errors. The film seemed to flow evenly without much dragging. As a fan of the genre, I particularly enjoyed this. Not saying you will, though; if you are not accustomed to low budget films, you may feel restless at times.

In conclusion, I recommend this film to people who have realistic expectations. 8/10