Day 04: Movie that kills off countless main/named characters

Going to go with Jason X.

Not only does Jason kill 25 characters, he is responsible for two other characters who give up their lives because of him AND 60 Marines and the ENTIRE population of the Solaris space station.

Countless indeed.

Info from Friday the 13th Films

Movie Monday - Four Drastically Different Films!

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Phone Booth (2002)

[Colin Farrell; Kiefer Sutherland; Forest Whitaker; Radha Mitchell; Katie Holmes]

Stu answers a phone booth phone call and soon finds his life, and the lives of those around him, are all in danger.

This movie was better than I expected. The premise is a bit 'out there', but hey, it's fiction, right? It was interesting to see how Stu reacted to what was happening to him. And it was cool to see the cop slowly figure out what was going on.

Farrell and Whitaker are great, as usual. And Sutherland was great as the caller. His voice here reminded me somewhat of the actor Ray Wise.

Good flick, recommended if you like tense thriller type films.



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Homicidal (1961)

[Glenn Corbett; Patricia Breslin; Eugenie Leontovich; Alan Bunce; Richard Rust]

A strange young woman, Emily, wants to marry a stranger and then annul the marriage. Soon enough, murder is always on the agenda. Another young woman is happy her brother Warren and their old childhood nanny have come home from an extended stay in Europe. But Emily is also among them, as a companion for the old woman. Just what strange family secrets will be uncovered when all is said and done?

An interesting flick directed by William Castle, this one is unsettling and creepy at times. And that is good for a scary flick! Towards the end of the film, there is a "Fright Break", to give the audience time to prepare for the intense scares ahead. Funny now, but must have been kinda cool back then!

Recommended for fans of older, Psycho-era horror films.

Jump to 6:07 in the video below for "Homicidal"



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Stardust (2007)

[Claire Danes; Charlie Cox; Ian McKellen; Michelle Pfeiffer; Robert De Niro; Sienna Miller]

A young man, with a mysterious heritage he is unaware of, goes on a quest for a fallen star, believing it will prove to the girl he wants that he is worthy. What he finds upon reaching the star, and the adventure that follows, is beyond anything he could have imagined.

This film was recommended to me by a friend, who said that anyone who liked "The Princess Bride" would love this, as well. He was correct. This is a great fantasy tale, but with a wry sense of humor. Fun, exciting - just amazingly wonderful.

The performances are all superb, as is the writing and directing. The effects work well to enhance the story, and not overwhelm it. That is a big plus.

I knew this was written by Neil Gaiman, but I had never read it. I requested a copy from PaperBackSwap, can't wait to read it now.

Highly recommended, for fantasy, fairy tale fans, or just someone looking for a great film.



Neil Gaiman's Official Site - Stardust

Stardust the Movie Official Site

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Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep (2006)

[Charlie O'Connell; Victoria Pratt; Jack Scalia; Kristi Angus; Cory Monteith]

A boy witnesses his parents death by some undersea monster. Flash forward, he is now on a mission to get revenge on their deaths and hooks up with an archaeologist and her crew to find a legendary artifact. Complicating matters is a ruthless millionaire crime boss who also wants the artifact.

Sounds interesting, yes? Wish it played out that way. Seems like these movies are, more and more, following a cookie cutter plot. I picked who was going to die in the beginning of the flick and was proved right. Not much else in the way of surprises or worthwhile plot to speak of.

Ah well, guess they can't all be winners, right Cal? Would take the fun out of it all, I guess.

Recommended for other masochistic monster movie fans only.

Trivia: Kristi Angus, who plays Jenny here, played Adrienne in "Jason X" - she was the one who had her head smashed after Jason dunked it in a vat of liquid nitrogen.



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Theme Thursday - 10

Theme Thursday this week is "10", so I decided to do 10 films that are the tenth entries in their respective series.

(And I am excluding 'adult' films... sorry, WAY too many in that genre!)

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1)

Jason X (2002)



The tenth film in the "Friday the 13th" series, this film is the "Jason in space" movie. Seems to be an love it/hate it film among fans, but I like it.

I know it is lacking in plot and such (what F13 movie isn't?), but I think it makes up for that with an interesting premise (hey, at least they tried something different), some interesting kills and UBER-Jason. Not as fun as Part VI: Jason Lives, but fun in it's own right.

I definitely rank it higher than a few others in this series (Jason Takes Manhattan, anyone?). And it's also Kane Hodder's swan-song as Mr. Voorhees.

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2)

H2: Halloween 2 (to be released later this year)



This is the tenth film in the successful Halloween series, but only the first sequel to "Rob Zombie's Halloween". Supposedly picking up where the first film left off, this movie will apparently feature the consequences of Myers rampage in the previous film.

I am not really excited about this one. Zombie's Halloween was a let down for me, too much in the vein of Hostel or the Saw movies. One of the things I like about the original film is the unknown, the mystery, as to why Michael is as he is. This film goes overboard to show you it all. Not my cup of tea.

But, I will give this film a chance. Hope for the best.

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3)

Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft (1998)



10 years after Witchcraft comes this tenth film in the series. This direct-to-video sequel ranks 1.4 stars out of 10 on IMDb's site, out 226 votes. I have never seen it, so I can't comment on it's quality. But, the series HAS to be making a profit if they are still making them, right? According to the site, a Part 13 was released in 2008.

The plot: In England, bisexual British vampires free Californian Satanist Hyde from police custody; LAPD Detective Lutz and Interpol's Bureau 17 try to catch them.

Anybody seen these films?

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4)

All Monsters Attack (aka Godzilla's Revenge) (aka Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki) (1969)



Okay... So, I have not seen this film in a LOOOOONG time, not since my "Creature Double Feature" days. I don't remember it.

But, it's a Godzilla film that also features the monsters Anguirus, Ebirah, Gabara, Gorosaurus, Kamacuras, Kumong, Manda, Minilla and the Giant Gondor. Now, that's 10 monsters, in one film, and it's the 10th Godzilla film. Serendipity!

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5)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)



This tenth film in the Star Trek franchise is the fourth one to feature the Next Generation cast. It ended up being the final film before the "reboot" movie "Star Trek", due out this May.

This is the film that some cite as the "burnout" of the Star Trek franchise. It is an okay film, more so maybe for Trek fans that non-fans. It also has an ending I didn't especially care for.

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6)

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945)



Sherlock Holmes is the most filmed fictional character, with nearly 200 appearances to date, including a new film due out late this year with Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear is the tenth film of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series. Rathbone's Holmes and Bruce's Dr. Watson are considered by many to be the quintessential portrayals of the characters.

This film, based on "The Five Orange Pips" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is sort of in the vein of "10 Little Indians", in that the murders keep occurring and Holmes must deduce the culprit.

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7)

Blondie Goes to College (1942)



Never saw any of the films in the "Blondie" series. I am sure they are a fun watch, if you like oldies or comedies. This film is the tenth in the series, of course, out of a total of 28 films - wow!

In this movie, Dagwood wants to go to college and Blondie wants another baby. A young Lloyd Bridges has a role as a college student.

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8)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)



This is the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as bond. Many fans of the series consider this one of the best entries.

In this one, the villain Stromberg wants to destroy the world and build his own undersea civilization. I have never been a major Bond fan, but Moore was always my favorite 007, mainly due to the fact that he was the one I grew up with.

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9)

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989)



This is the tenth film of the 30 TV movies that reunited the "Perry Mason" cast from the classic show. These came out around the same time "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock" were popular shows.

Speaking of "Perry Mason", there is a television station in Portland, Oregon that has been playing the show almost non-stop in the noon timeslot since 1966. Calls come in if, for any reason, the channel pre-empts the show. Talk about devotion!

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10)

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)



This is the tenth entry in the (as of 2007) 13 movie-strong series about the dinosaur Littlefoot and his friends.

My daughter was a fan of these movies when she was really little, but she outgrew them awhile ago.

This entry also features the voices of James Garner, Bernadette Peters and Kiefer Sutherland.

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I only did 10 movies here (keeping with the theme), so if you know of others, let me know.