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| 1. Eye of the Beholder Director: Stephan Elliott | |
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Amazon.com Judd plays a black-widow serial murderer named Joanna, who is systematically seducing and killing men who, in one way or another, are outside the ordinary. (Among her victims is a blind mulimillionaire, played by Patrick Bergin, and a nasty loser portrayed, surprisingly, by Jason Priestley.)McGregor is on board as a British intelligence agent who happens to be following her. Referred to as "the Eye," McGregor's operative is a haunted man abandoned years before by his wife and daughter. His isolation is such that he holds imaginary conversations with the latter, and she advises him to take pity on Joanna and protect her even as she carries on with her monstrous mission. That's precisely what he does, at a distance, ushering in comparisons to Hitchcock's classics about voyeurism and obsession, particularly Vertigo and Rear Window. (Allusions to Francis Coppola's TheConversation are unavoidable as well.) But despite the great material (the 1980 source novel by MarcBehm was highly praised by The New York Times) and a fascinating cast (including Geneviève Bujold and k.d. lang),Eye of the Beholder bogs down in Stephan Elliott's often thoughtless, obvious direction. Elliott (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) grinds down several members of the cast by insisting on dreary, one-note performances, and he makes a long movie seem even longer by telegraphingstory twists and other developments long before they happen. Justice would be served if one could extract Judd and McGregor's appearances here and graft them onto a better movie, but so it goes.--Tom Keogh Reviews (168)
The acting was superb, for a film that went nowhere. It was amazing how there is little to no chemistry between Eye and Joanna. The only thing that kept me watching was Judd's acting. The movie seemed like it ended where the middle should have been. The backround information was vague on both character's part. The whole movie evolved around a chase between a killer and the man pursuing the killer the sad thing is that it went nowhere from there. Overall: Visuals: 3
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| 2. Arrival/Arrival 2 Director: Kevin Tenney | |
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Reviews (19)
The Arrival offers up an engrossing, paranoid and believable storyline involving aliens among us who have sinister plans for the planet, at our expense. Charlie Sheen, despite being relegated to that merely-average-actor purgatory, does a decent job as a radio astronomer working for JPL who discovers an unearthly radio message which leads him to Mexico to uncover the strange secret behind a series of mysterious power plants cropping up in third world countries, and their connection with accelerated global warming. Directory David Twohy does an admirable job with the special effects considering the low budget. This film got an undeserved bad rap. More realistic than that mindless "Armageddon"/"ID4" Hollywood dross. As for Arrival II, well, it pretty much destroys what could have been a worthy sequel.
Clearly Zane has discovered something he is not supposed to know about. But part of the problem is that he has no clue what he has stumbled upon or why it should get people killed. The other key part of the problem is that Zane is now unemployed and no longer has access to a gigantic radio telescope. So he has to, basically, build one, which is how "The Arrival" lets you know that Twohy has paid attention to the science of the story (okay, I know nothing about science and this could all be nonsense, but there is an effort being made to connect the scientific dots). Zane effective does build his own radio telescope, and if this new phase of his old obsession has made him lose his girl friend, Char (Teri Polo), at least he has Kiki (Tony T. Johnson) the smart street kid who lives next door to take up the slack. Of course the audience gets to figure things out a bit before Zane does, but then he is distracted by the most ingenious attempts to kill someone is bath tub I have seen since "Final Destination." I checked out this film because I saw one of Twohy's more recent efforts, "Below," and again he shows some creativity in presenting the conventions of the science fiction-thriller genre. Sheen's performance is an interesting mix of paranoia and anger, sometimes switching back and forth between the two in an instance if somebody looks at him funny or is just funny looking. I did not bite on the obvious red herring as to who the ultimate villain was in "The Arrival," but I did not see the final revelation coming either, so that is a good thing. Ultimately, I did not find "The Arrival" to be a classic science fiction film, but for a modern version of the "B" movie it is very good. Unfortunately the 1998 sequel, "The Arrival II," makes it clear from the start that things are going to go awry. We get a news report that Zane has died under mysterious circumstances while hiding out with the Eskimos. Every since Newt and Hicks were killed during the opening credits of "Aliens3" I have a visceral reaction to similar attempts to clear the decks for the new characters in the new film. However, it turns out that before his death Zane sent packets of information about the alien menace to a few key individuals, including his half-brother, Jack Addison (Patrick Muldoon). He has to be a blood relation because that makes things personal as opposed to merely being concerned with the fate of the world. Those who received the packages from beyond gathered in a meat locker, where Jack meets reporter Bridget Riordan (Jane Sibbett), and Professor Nelson Zarcoff (Michael Sarrazin). It looks like we might be assembling a team of intelligent people in key positions who will be able to work together to stop the menace. But, no, this is going to be primarily a chase film. The biggest problem with this sequel is that once you understand what the aliens can do and where this script has them embedded in the government, then it is really game over, they win, hope you use really heavy sun screen in the world to come. But on a more intimate level as much as the first film plays fair with the science and the audience, this one insists on yanking our chains. In the first film there is a wonderful sequence where Zane, denied access to radio telescopes, creates his own by hooking up neighborhood satellite dishes that he can use in the dead of night when their owners are asleep. This might be nonsense, but in the context of the film it works. In this one Jack is a computer hacker who can work his magic on the alien computer when in "reality" he would be lucky to figure out how to turn it on let alone do significant programming. This was Mark David Perry's first script and given the detail and flair of Twohy's original what we have here just pales in comparison, even with a gratuitous nude scene thrown into the mix early on. There is not much the actors can do with this mess and there are few times in the film when they come close to catching the appropriate emotions of the moment since the script keeps insisting they be a step behind in figuring out what is happening. As I said, the only reason to watch "The Arrival II" (a.k.a. "The Second Arrival") is that it is not that hard to flip over the DVD. However, you really would be better off just watching the first side twice.
The Arrival II is an unnecessary follow-up to the original, an inventive and suspenseful sci-fi thriller. Of course, unnecessary follow-ups are a rule of thumb, so a sequel to The Arrival seemed pretty inevitable, especially when you consider its ending. Too bad this "continuation" lacks all the qualities of its predecessors, namely in good writing, acting, and inspired direction. I actually purchased the Arrival II on DVD...as it was a double feature with the original. Before I even popped the film in, I was expecting ...from the first minute, so the best thing I can say is that the movie turned out to be a bit more watchable than I expected. The Arrival II is set in Montreal, two months after the events of the original. Radio astronomer Zane Zaminski has died of an apparent heart attack, but he did manage to send out info of the alien invasion to his most trusted colleagues, as well as to his stepbrother, Jack Addison (Patrick Muldoon), and a news reporter (Jane Sibbett, Ross' lesbian ex-wife from Friends). This group becomes the targets of the aliens, until the only survivors are Muldoon and Sibbett, who go on the run together and try to expose the aliens' nefarious plans. The Arrival II suffers distinctly from a lack of freshness, which is much needed in a sequel that's meant to continue a running story. All the material we have here is pretty much repeat. Basically, we know there are aliens out there disguised as human beings and they're whole goal is to terraform the Earth and mold it into an environment suitable for their own colonization. Oh, and let's not forget that spherical object with a strong vacuum pull. Like the original, we've got our "intelligent" protagonist (we find this out because everyone keeps telling him he's smarter than he thinks) and blonde chick that plays as love interest. Problem is, these two are played by Patrick Muldoon and Jane Sibbett, neither of whom I've seen in anything on film or TV that suggests they can act. Muldoon is mostly expressionless, though occasionally has that "whoa, dude" act that would give Freddie Prinze, Jr. a run for his money. Sibbett is simply dreadful as the reporter. Let's put it this way, those who found Courtney Cox unconvincing as Gail Weathers in the Scream series will be shouting "Come back! All is forgiven!" The other performances aren't worth noting, except maybe Catherine Blythe, who gives the movie its sole bit of very gratuitous nudity. The script has little to none of the intelligence of the original and it often mistakes scientific mumbo-jumbo as smart screenwriting. The plot's got a lot of twists and turns, mostly involving a guessing game of who's human and who's not. None of these little revelations are the slightest bit surprising, and they might even induce a few scoffs here and there. The special effects on display range from pretty bad to hilariously awful, the worst bit probably being when one of the aliens reveals its true identity. There are a lot of other clunkers, such as the cheesy-looking holographic displays and the destruction of a power plant in the film's conclusion. Yeah, visual effects themselves usually don't determine a movie's quality, but they sure don't help the film here. Directed by Kevin S. Tenney, the same guy who gave us the fun Night of the Demons, but has yet to have helmed anything worth seeing since then. For some reason, though, The Arrival II is still somewhat watchable (meaning you won't want to stab yourself in the eye), probably because the concept of aliens disguised as humans is intriguing enough on its own. Too bad this suspenseless and absurd sequel can't capitalize on the original's unique ideas.
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| 3. The Minion Director: Jean-Marc Piché | |
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Reviews (5)
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| 4. Run the Wild Fields Director: Paul A. Kaufman | |
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Reviews (3)
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| 5. Nightwaves Director: Jim Kaufman | |
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| 6. Ultimate Weapon Director: Jon Cassar | |
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Reviews (5)
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| 7. Witchboard III - The Possession Director: Peter Svatek | |
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Reviews (6)
oh well....enjoy the movie but do not turn the lights off. also get some big macs while u watch it.
Brian (David Nerman) is a recently fired stock broker. He and his beautiful wife Julie (Locky Lambert) move into an apartment in a gothic building in order to save costs while Brian job hunts. Immediately, he meets eccentric landlord Francis (Cedric Smith), who has a strange collection of fertility artifacts and a fascination with the Ouija. He confides to Brian that he made his money by consulting the board on commodities purchases. Brian dabbles, makes some scratch, and is hooked on the nice old man. We find out Julie is a most unlikely cultural anthropology professor. She has a cute best friend, Lisa (Donna Sarrasin), and confides in her often. One pleasant afternoon, Francis gives Brian an old ring, tells him he always wanted children, then throws himself off a balcony, impaling himself on an ornate gateway. At his funeral, Francis' crazy ex-wife bursts in and desecrates the corpse to "make sure he is dead." So far, so good. We have a couple of gory scenes, and even a sex scene thrown in at the beginning...and then everything goes downhill. Brian steals the Ouija board and borrows money from a shady money launderer for his next Ouija-inspired purchase. He thinks the board is wrong, and cannot pay the man back. Before Brian can tell him about the board, the crook is attacked by his own butterfly collection in an inspired but poorly realized scene. Later, Brian tries to burn the Ouija but is killed by the board. His spirit is trapped in a mirror and Francis' now evil spirit inhabits Brian's body, all in an effort to get Julie pregnant. Evil Brian brings many of Francis' old things into his apartment, including mirrors that Good Brian can use to watch Julie. Soon, Evil Brian begins to change, much to Julie's consternation. He wants to get her pregnant, she refuses, and he makes the demon moves on Lisa. Finally, Good Brian gets Lisa to see Francis' crazy ex-wife, who tells them how to defeat Evil Brian in a goofy finale, involving the old ring, a crossbow, and bad special effects. As with all the "Witchboard" films, the cast tries to work material that just is not there. Too many questions remain. Why did Francis pick Julie of all people? Why did Evil Brian/Francis bring all of Francis' old stuff into the apartment, knowing Good Brian would be able to communicate with Julie? The main villain is a demon, but not much more is given about who he is or where he came from. Julie is a anthropology professor, but this knowledge adds nothing to the plot. She recognizes some of the dead landlord's pieces, but that is all. The only previous knowledge that helps her defeat the villain involves an allergy to shrimp...don't ask. Svatek's cinematography is mostly earth hues, setting off the bloody scenes. He also must rely on some really cheesy computer animated effects (like morphing), and reverse filming. The butterfly collection attack probably looked great on paper, but the budget is not there to make it convincing to the audience. The Ouija board here is the best looking of the series, black and gothic. All in all, this entry is the worst of the three films. It came out in 1995, and there have not been any "Witchboard" monikered films since. Of course, as long as Tenney is still working in Hollywood, there is probably a germ of an idea somewhere. That is one germ I hope does not spread. I do not recommend this. This is rated (R) for strong physical violence, mild sexual violence, gore, strong profanity, strong female nudity, strong sexual content, sexual references, and adult situations.
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| 8. Witness Files Director: Douglas Jackson | |
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| 9. Witness Files Director: Douglas Jackson | |
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| 10. The Ultimate Weapon Director: Jon Cassar | |
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| 11. The Scorpio Factor Director: Michel Wachniuc | |
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