Reviews

I'm not sure how I ended up watching this film as I've never seen the X-Men series nor read the comic book, but having been a huge fan of films like "Flash Gordon" and "Superman" as a child, I decided to give it a chance. The basic premise is mutant humans who each possess unique and incredible powers are in a struggle to save themselves and regular humans (who are threatened by and afraid of the mutants) from evil mutants. I would give the story a mere 5, nothing too exciting there, but based on the film's visual appeal, I took my rating up a notch to a 6.

Ed Gein, the true story of a deranged Midwestern murderer, takes us to the edge of shock, but never quite to the point of nausea or extremely disturbed. Well, that or I'm just really jaded. Don't get me wrong, this is quite a bizarre tale of necrophilia, murder, and cannibalism and the actors, particularly the actors who portray Gein and his mother, are top notch, but somehow the filmaker doesn't quite catch the creepy atmosphere like the much better "Henry; Portrait of a Serial Killer". In a word, it wasn't particularly scary or on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense. I gave it a 6.

While I really admire the noble effort of this very primitive 1966 dark comedy, unfortunately it falls flat on it's face. Sort of a cross between the films of Russ Meyers with busty women being murdered in their bras and, albeit loosely, the wackiness of John Waters' efforts. What it comes down to though, is that the funny parts aren't funny and the horror is pure cheese. However, being a reluctant fan of slightly bad cinema, I don't regret having seen it.

Nothing original here, none the less an enjoyable British dark comedy often, and rightfully, compared to "Pulp Fiction". Flashy camera work, loads of violence, and funny, fast paced dialogue that requires a very attentive ear for we Americans. Strangely, I enjoyed this testosterone fest more than my husband who could barely stay awake.

Although some of the humor is extremely crude, this 1995 Kevin Smith effort had me doubled over in laughter for nearly the entire film's length. Jason Lee ("Chasing Amy" and "Almost Famous") is superb in the lead role as the quintessential 90's slacker and the rest of the cast, made up of a lot of Kevin Smith regulars and Shannon Doherty, shine in their roles as well. As with all Kevin Smith films, the emphasis is on the dialogue and relationships the characters have, but "Mallrats" has a bit more action and is slightly more plot driven than, say, "Clerks". All in all, highly funny and enjoyable and I rated it a "9".