Mr. Frost (1990)

Directed by: Philippe Setbon
Written by: Derry Hall + Brad Lynch
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Alan Bates, Kathy Baker, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Vincent Schiavelli, Maxime Leroux, Francois Negret

When an insane mass murderer Mr. Frost (Jeff Goldblum) arrives at a secluded European psychiatric hospital, the only female doctor on the staff (Kathy Baker) finds herself strangely fascinated by him. He only speaks when she is around, and she is slowly seduced by his odd charms and mystique, despite his bloody past. Soon odd, frightening and deadly things begin to occur inside and outside of the clinic, and Mr. Frost reveals that he is more than just a mad serial killer, he claims he is Satan himself, and it is up to the doctor and a policeman (Alan Bates) to stop him.

For a so called horror film, nothing even remotely scary happens. Sure a few people are murdered and some 'scary' visions are seen, but even when these things happen, the filmmakers manage to make it boring, from beginning to end.

All the actors are terrible, especially Goldblum, who basically plays the same character he always plays but with long hair and a bad mood. The usually adept Kathy Baker seems bored whenever she isn't in some sort of trance or in Frost's thrall.

This movie has an interesting premise, but the script is pretty stupid, and the execution is even worse. Whether it was from budget constraints, a bad director, a satanic curse, or a mixture of all these things, the film is just awful. A better director could have taken the crappy script, improved on it's interesting conceits, and made a somewhat entertaining supernatural thriller. But there's no such luck here. What we get is a dull, wannabe intelligent horror film. It shoots to be in league with 'The Exorcist' but ends up in the toilet with 'Bless the Child.'



Final Verdict: Skip It

Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Mira Sorvino, F. Murray Abraham, Helena Bonham Carter, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Rapaport, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Warden, Peter Weller, Danielle Ferland

Sportswriter Lenny Weinrib (Allen) and his wife (Bonham-Carter) adopt a baby from an anonymous mother. After a few years pass, Lenny starts to wonder about the woman. Curiosity quickly gets the better of him, so he steals files from the adoption agency and sets out to find her. Lenny is dismayed, maybe even terrified, to find that Linda (Sorvino,) the mother, is a beautiful $200-an-hour prostitute. So that he can fashion the proper mother-son reunion and save himself from what fate seems to have in store, he determines to 'reform' Linda. Interwoven throughout the story is a greek chorus (including F. Murray Abraham and Olympia Dukakis,) who add their own unique take on the proceedings.

I've always preferred Woody Allen's comedies over his dramas. This one is probably one of my favorites. This film is a great example of Woody Allen showing no interest in convincing his audience into swallowing down some serious morals. It's light, fluffy, shamelessly sentimental and does not suffer a bit because of it. The plot is generally an uplifting tale of changing ones life for the better, and intertwined with this is some of Woody Allen's best humour. There are many entertaining characters, especially Mira Sorvino's prostitute and Michael Rapaport's dim-witted boxer, Kevin.

The stand-out here is Mira Sorvino. She is absolutely enthralling, with her ditsy nature and confidence masking a timid vulnerability, all of which earned her a well deserved Oscar. Linda could have been an over the top, cartoonish character, Pygmalion on crack. But under the careful direction of Allen, Sorvino gives the best performance of her career so far, and one of the funniest performances ever.



Final Verdict: See It

The Dark Half (1993)

Directed by: George A. Romero
Written by: Stephen King; George A. Romero
Starring: Timothy Hutton, Mary Beth Hurt, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, Robert Joy, Kent Broadhurst, Beth Grant, Rutanya Alda

There are only a small handful of films based on works by Stephen King that can without a doubt be classified as 'great movies.' They are 'Carrie,' 'The Shining,' 'Misery,' 'Dolores Claiborne,' 'The Dead Zone,' 'Stand By Me' and 'Cujo.' All the others range from 'flawed' to 'awful.'

Despite it's decent cast, and respected horror director Romero at the helm, 'The Dark Half' lies more towards the awful end of the spectrum. The filmmakers gave it their best shot but things just didn't work out. It fails as a horror film in terms of suspense, plausibility, and narrative.

When Thad Beaumont (Hutton) was a child, he had an operation to remove a tumor from his brain. During the operation, it was discovered that far from being a tumor, the growth was a twin brother of Thad's that never developed. Years later, Thad is a successful author, writing his serious books under his own name, and his trashy money-makers under the pseudonum 'George Stark.' When blackmailed by someone who has discovered his secret, Thad publically 'buries' George Stark. From that point on, Thad increasingly becomes the prime suspect in a series of gruesome murders.

Of all the King adaptations I've seen, this is one of the dullest. The main character is unsympathetic, his alter ego is two dimensional and totally hammy, you don't care about any of the victims (much less even know who they are at some points,) and there is hardly any horror and next to no tension.

However, there is some good production design and cinematography on display here, as well as some striking images. Huge flocks of sparrows gathering as an omen of doom is a haunting sight. But that alone can't save this film, which is just another King adaptation from a period where almost everything he'd write would end up being made into a movie.



Final Verdict: Skip It

Chattahoochee (1990)

Directed by: Mick Jackson
Written by: James Hicks
Starring: Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, Ned Beatty, M. Emmet Walsh

Emmet Foley (Oldman,) a decorated but troubled Korean War vet suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and impotence, has a breakdown and goes on a shooting spree in his neighborhood, subliminally hoping to commit "suicide by cop." When that fails, he shoots himself in the chest but survives to be sentenced to a maximum security mental hospital in 1955 Florida. While recovering, he begins to feel a sense of rage over the mistreatment and open abuse of his fellow inmates, whose needs are ignored in an atmosphere of neglect and filth. With the help of another inmate (Hopper) and his faithful sister (Reed,) he begins a campaign against the entrenched bureaucracy to improve conditions for his fellow patients.

This film would have been better if the director had managed to reel the cast in a little bit. Oldman and Hopper in particular. Their scenes come across as ham-fisted and over the top, ruining scenes that were supposed to be harrowing and shocking. McDormand, playing the dimwitted wife, has a couple decent scenes, but she's far from memorable in this. Pamela Reed, on the other hand, gives a good solid performance in this, free of histrionics and scenery chewing.

The script is another problem. It's filled with every cliche in the 'insane asylum' genre book. From cruel orderlies to heartless hospital bureaucrats to long scenes of suffering. There's nothing here that we haven't seen dozens of times before.

All in all it's not a horrible film, it's just very predictable and routine. There are other, better films to see if you want a look inside the horrors of mid-twentieth century psychiatric wards.

Final Verdict: Skip It

The Super (1991)

Directed by: Rod Daniel
Written by: Sam Simon
Starring: Joe Pesci, Vincent Gardenia, Madolyn Smith Osborne, Ruben Blades, Stacey Travis, Carlole Shelley, Beatrice Winde

I would have ideally liked for the first film on the blog to be one more noteworthy or interesting. But since 'The Super' was the first film I watched, here I am, writing about it.

This is a movie I'd seen bits and pieces of on TV growing up over the years, but had never seen from start to finish. When I saw it was airing I immediately scheduled it for recording. Well, I'm glad I saw it and finally got it out of my system.

It's not as terrible as I thought it would be, as there are some funny moments, but on a whole it's a misfire. Without Joe Pesci this would have been just painful to watch but because he has such a presence on screen, the movie is saved. Barely.

If you and your friends want to have a movie marathon with a theme, may I suggest one? How about a 'Late Eighties/Early Nineties Race Relation Movies Set In NYC' night? You can watch this movie, Do the Right Thing, Bonfire of the Vanities, and Jungle Fever. Hey, it's just a suggestion.

That's all I'm gonna write for this one. In the future as I watch better movies and get used to writing this blog, things will get better. I promise.



Final Verdict: Skip It