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Man, The
Man of the Year (2006) Reviewed By Peter Sobczynski Posted 10/13/06 16:28:12

"a.k.a. "Death of a Presidential Satire" (Total Crap)

The good news about “Man of the Year” is that, despite what the commercials suggest, it is not simply two hours of Robin Williams kibitzing in the White House after inadvertently being elected President of the United States, a plot device that didn’t exactly provide a bonanza of comedy in the hands of Chris Rock (“Head of State”) or Bob Newhart (“First Family”) when they tried it. The bad news is that the actual film–the one hidden behind the previews that highlight Williams doing his rapid-fire patter and dressing like George Washington–is so much worse that you’ll find yourself wishing that it actually was just one giant piece of schtick instead of one giant piece of something else.Williams plays Tom Dobbs, the host of a wildly popular and politically oriented comedy/talk show that is not a million miles removed from “Politically Incorrect,” though the clips we see of Dobbs in action remind us less of Jon Stewart and more of Robin Williams during one of his less-inspired talk show appearances. One night, a member of his studio audience unconvincingly speaks about her despair towards the current political climate and suggests that Dobbs himself should run in the upcoming presidential election. The next day, Dobbs announces his candidacy, promises that he won’t accept any corporate contributions and gets himself placed on the ballot in a handful of key states. Much to the despair of his manager (Christopher Walken) and producer (Lewis Black), Dobbs takes the campaign seriously (though he doesn’t believe that he has a chance of winning) and delivers one earnestly dull stump speech after another instead of the comedic commentary that made him famous in the first place. Dobbs somehow gets enough support to be invited to a key debate with the Democratic incumbent and the Republican challenger (both seem delighted with this prospect even though there is no chance they would agree to debate on television with someone who knows the medium inside-out) and he chooses that night to finally cut loose. In this case, cutting loose means braying like an idiot, interrupting his fellow debaters and spouting off the same kind of rhetoric about how contemporary political parties are out of touch with the needs of the voters that we have heard in any number of movies about underdogs running for public office. Inexplicably, this nonsense strikes a chord with the debate audience and sparks a groundswell of support that culminated with Dobbs winning all the states where he is on the ballot–by an amazing coincidence, they carry just enough electoral votes to allow him to win the election. Thankfully, it turns out that there is more to Dobbs’s victory than meets the eye–it was actually the result of a flaw in the software in the new electronic voting machines that were being used for the first time. Instead of correcting the mistake in the first place (at the risk of jeopardizing the stock price), a high-ranking executive (Jeff Goldblum) instead decides to fire and discredit Eleanor (Laura Linney), the employee who noticed the flaw weeks before and who has threatened to go public. After Eleanor finally figures out what the flaw was (the company fires her, pumps her with enough drugs to kill an elephant and otherwise destroys her good name yet somehow forgets to terminate her access to their systems), she makes her to Washington to inform Dobbs that his election was a sham, leaving him in the awkward position of whether he should keep the information secret so that he can actually do some good as President or do the right thing and announce that he didn’t really win. The plot developments involving the Eleanor character are so insipid that you can’t understand how anyone reading (or writing) the screenplay could have possibly thought that they were handled properly. First, we are expected to believe that the company would be so desperate as to arrange for thugs to break into her apartment and pump her with a ton of drugs while leaving her alive instead of just ponying up the extra $50 to kill her for good and be done with it. Second, we are expected to believe that she is able to just wander up to the President-elect in a nightclub and chat him up without arousing any suspicion, even though she has gone through the pointless charade of impersonating (badly) an FBI agent. Then, when she finally gets Dobbs alone to tell him her important secret . . . she never quite gets around to doing it because it would just be too awkward. A few days later, she goes out to play paintball with him and still isn’t able to tell him the truth. Finally, after a third get-together at Thanksgiving, she finally works up the nerve to tell him what has happened. As a result, the film grinds to an endless halt while waiting for her to finally get things moving again. Why not just have her tell him everything the first time she meets him, have her get killed off immediately afterwards (thereby saving us the endless scenes of her being chased around by mysterious people) and leave Dobbs to decide for himself what to do? As it stands, “Man of the Year” comes across more as a one-hour story that has been outrageously padded in an attempt to get it up to a respectable length. Another problem with the film is that the entire political campaign of Tom Dobbs is not convincing for a second. Instead of trying to paint a convincing picture of what might actually happen if a Jon Stewart type decided to run for office in a time when polls love to remind us that most young people get their news information from places like “The Daily Show” than from newspapers or traditional news shows, we get another fairy tale that demonstrate virtually no working idea of how the current political process works. This aspect of the film is so sketchy that unless I missed it, there is not a single moment when we learn the identity of who is supposed to be Dobbs’s Vice-President. This is especially shocking when you consider that “Man of the Year” comes from Barry Levinson, the same man who directed “Wag the Dog,” a film that had a strong and perceptive working knowledge of the way politics and politicians are sold and spun today. Of course, that film also had a strong and perceptive screenplay from David Mamet while this one was scribbled by Levinson himself and feels like a first draft that he dashed off years ago (this is a film that still believes that the hippest place for political satire is “Saturday Night Live”) and never honed into a proper narrative. What is most frustrating about “Man of the Year” is that it brings in a lot of promising elements and then completely wastes them. There is a great black comedy to be had in the subject of the ticking time-bombs that are the electronic voting machines of today–machines that can be easily hacked into and which have no paper trail to prove that a vote is actually credited to the person for whom it was intended–and the manufacturers who would prefer the wrong man be elected President than to admit that they made a mistake. Levinson also raises the possibility that the software glitch might not have been an accident (if Dobbs hadn’t entered, the flaw would have ensured that the incumbent would be the winner) and then does absolutely nothing with it. Instead, we get an endless scene of Dobbs and his buddies playing paintball, Dobbs visiting the White House and discovering the awesome and humbling power of the Oval Office and an amazing array of suspense-free suspense scenes in which the Laura Linney character evades her pursuers only because they are evidently dumber than she is. Not even the cast can muster enough energy to save “Man of the Year” from complete disposability. Williams is never believable for a second as a populist candidate who speak for the people, the usually reliable Laura Linney and Jeff Goldblum are both dreadful and Lewis Black basically plays himself, only a far less amusing version than the one seen on “The Daily Show” or even the recent “Accepted.” The only bright light in the film comes from the always-reliable Christopher Walken. Sure, there is no real purpose to his character and Levinson has no real idea of what to do with him in the second half but he does get a couple of laughs here and there thanks to his mere presence. Basically, Walken’s job here is to serve as the film’s comedy relief–not a bad idea until you recall that “Man of the Year” is actually supposed to be a comedy in the first place.“Man of the Year” was written and directed by Barry Levinson, who once again proves himself to be the most wildly inconsistent American filmmaker at work today. With the exception of the films inspired by his hometown of Baltimore (“Diner,” “Tin Men,” “Avalon” and “Liberty Heights”), you never know what you are going to get in a Levinson film. Sometimes he makes a truly great film, as he did with “Bugsy” and “Wag the Dog.” Sometimes he gives us a solid and well-made bit of entertainment, such as “Good Morning Vietnam” or “Rainman.” Sometimes he gives us relentlessly banal pieces of product that feel untouched by human hands like “Disclosure,” “Young Sherlock Holmes” and “Bandits.” And then–and this has begun happening with increasing frequency over the years–he will come up with the likes of “Sphere,” “Jimmy Hollywood” or “Envy,” the kind of all-out disasters that would have killed off the career of any ordinary director. Even by his less-than-stellar track record, “Man of the Year” represents a new career low–a would-be political satire that is so poorly constructed and incompetently made that it almost makes “American Dreamz” look like “Dr. Strangelove by comparison.
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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Forrest Gump Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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The Movie:





Occasionally, I’m incorrect - it happens. Such was the case in 1994, when I started reading reviews for this “Gump” film, with Tom Hanks. It was getting excellent reviews and, after I eventually saw it, I felt “that was pretty satisfying”. I certainly never thought that the film would go on to do what it did, though. Weeks after its opening, the film was still going strong at the box office. Forrest ran himself all the way to 673,800,000 dollars worldwide, not to mention untold fortunes in tie-ins and video (and now DVD) sales.



“Gump” is a movie that could have fallen either onto the side of being way too sappy or way too over-the-top, but thanks to Hanks in the title role, the movie works better than it would have likely done with any other actor. Forrest is born to a Southern woman (Sally Field) who protects his dignity and doesn’t acknowledge his reported lack of IQ (”stupid is as stupid does”). When Forrest gets the corrective braces off of his legs, he runs…and runs…and runs.





Although Forrest runs with incredible speed using his legs, it’s his heart that steers him along in his course across history. Forrest finds himself in Vietnam, finds himself in the midst of several historical events and even becomes a ping-pong champion. Yet, throughout all of the years and all of the ups and downs, Forrest has been really chasing the love of his live, Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn).



One of the most impressive things about “Gump” is not only its terrific performances, but the superb screenplay, which flawlessly jumps from time to time, tying things together with a present-day narration from Forrest sitting on a bench, talking to folks passing by. There are a few stretches in the second half of the nearly 2 1/2 hour picture where it does begin to drag, but for the majority, the performance of Hanks holds the attention, as does the general feeling of not being quite sure what’s going to happen to Forrest next. I suppose I prefer to think of “Gump” as a picture that looks at the different decades through the eyes of someone without the ability to be cynical - to look at what happened through Forrest’s child-like eyes. There are some people though, who tend to dislike the fact that the people around Forrest who have hopes generally don’t make it, while Forrest, who doesn’t really have any aspirations, falls into success.



Either way, I generally found “Gump” to be a success. A picture that could have failed and failed big-time, both Hanks and supporting cast (especially Sinese)have come together to make a very enjoyable picture that only rarely becomes a little melodramatic or sappy. In terms of the discussion about whether or not this film should have won several Oscars that year, I think the answer is actually no. Maybe in any other year, but up against both “Pulp Fiction” and “The Shawshank Redemption”, I certainly thought “Shawshank” was a far better film and even “Pulp” was more impressive. It’s been several years since I last viewed “Gump” though - it might have even been 1994 when I last saw the film - it still holds up nicely.




The DVD





VIDEO: “Forrest Gump” is presented by Paramount in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Taken from a new high-definition master, the picture looks generally superb, but there’s some concerns that I had with the image throughout the film. Sharpness and detail are excellent throughout the majority of the movie, with only a few minor moments of slight softness. Darker scenes still have a pleasant amount of visual information, but it’s the gorgeous outdoor scenes that are most enjoyably well-defined.



There’s a few problems to contend with, though. Although obviously the stock footage that Forest has been digitally inserted to are going to be grainy and somewhat worn, the picture has some print flaws otherwise. Although not displaying heavy wear, there are several instances where slight marks, speckles and the occasional scratch are visible. Edge enhancement is also occasionally apparent, but I didn’t find it too noticable or bothersome. Pixelation is absent, with the exception of a couple of tiny traces.



Colors occasionally varied throughout the movie, sometimes looking subdued and sometimes looking vibrant, but always looking natural and with no instances of smearing or other problems. Overall, this is a great transfer with a few flaws that the presentation doesn’t hardly suffer from. The layer change was notced at 1:09:46. It certainly was nicely placed, though and won’t distract.





SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is rather inconsistent. Aside from several sequences that have the surrounds suddenly flaring up (the Vietnam sequence), the film remains mostly subdued and things fold-up to the front quickly after those intense moments. The score sounds superb and gets fine presence throughout the movie, as do the great songs of the era that are included.



The intense sequences of surround-use such as the Vietnam sequence aren’t going to be confused with “Saving Private Ryan”, but it’s still very impressive sound-wise for a 1994 picture. Audio quality was quite good, with occasional strong low-end bass and a crisp, clear quality to not only the music, but the effects and dialogue. A little inconsistent, but still a fine presentation overall.



“Gump” sound designer Randy Thom also worked with Zemeckis again on 97’s “Contact” and the pair of “Cast Away” and “What Lies Beneath” from 2000. His work on “Cast Away” was also Oscar nominated.



MENUS:: The animated menus involve the famous “feather” from the movie. Personally, I would have liked a little Forrest at the bottom of the screen who would start running when you selected to go to a sub-menu. The little Forrest would then run into the sub-menu with that “run, Forrest, run!” sound clip in the background. Oh well.



EXTRAS:: A note - it’s nice to see that both English and French subtitles are included for the video supplements.





Commentaries: This is a commentary from director Robert Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter. Although I was greatly displeased with Zemeckis’s discussion of “What Lies Beneath”(not to mention the movie itself), I thought his commentary for “Cast Away” was suprisingly fascinating. This commentary comes somewhere in-between those two. Zemeckis delivers a wealth of information about the production itself, discussing the pre-production discussions that went on about how to visually take on the picture into the production itself and what obstacles were faced. Starkey discusses the actors and story details, while Carter talks about locations and set-design. Some of the comments start to become a little too story-specific and obvious, but there were many interesting passages that provide more detailed insight into how certain elements were achieved. Carter and Starkey are recorded together while Zemeckis has been recorded separately.



The second commentary was a late addition to the DVD and features producer Wendy Finerman. The producer offers several interesting stories about the making of the film, but the unfortunate part is that there are occasionally some very long gaps between comments.

Disc Two

Through The Ears Of Forrest Gump: Sound designer and supervising sound editor Randy Thom has worked with director Robert Zemeckis several times now. You can hear him on the commentary for the “Cast Away” DVD, where his discussions provide almost a “mini-school” for sound design. During these featurettes, Thom is interviewed about his role in the sound for several different scenes and takes the viewer through how sound was mixed and made for each of the scenes. The specific sections are “the bike”, “crowds”, “vietnam”, “rain” and “ping pong”.



Through The Eyes Of Forrest Gump: This is a 30 minute making-of documentary that was made around the time of the film’s release. Although the first half is dominated by promotional discussion about the story and characters, the second half is more enjoyable, focusing more on the effects and other obstacles. Look for Hanks doing a few amusing impressions of Zemeckis.



Screen Tests: Screen-test footage is offered with Michael Conner Humphrey and Hanna Hall (young Forrest and young Jenny), Robin Wright (Jenny) and Haley Joel Osment (Forrest, Jr.). Young “Sixth Sense” star Osment’s screen-test ends with him whispering to Hanks, “I see dead people.” Just kidding.



Building The World Of Forrest Gump: Commentary participant production designer Rick Carter is interviewed here about discussing the look of Forrest Gump, going over the details of building sets and picking locations. This is an eight minute featurette.



Seeing Is Believing: Visual Effects: Visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, who has worked with Zemeckis on several pictures, discusses in depth what had to be done for 11 of the major sequences that involved special effects. Focused on are “Birth Of A Nation”, “Run Forrest, Run!”, “Martin Luther King, JR.”, “George Wallace”, “Vietnam”, “Ping Pong With George Bush”, “Lyndon B. Johnson”, “Enhancing Reality”, “John Lennon With Dick Cavett”, “Lt. Dan’s Legs” and “Richard Nixon”.



Magic Of Make-up: This is a 7 minute featurette that goes over the look of the characters and how the look of the characters was changed via make-up over the lengthy periods covered in the film. The film’s make-up supervisors gives us a tour of how things were done and there are also some screen-tests of the actors in their make-up offered during the featurette.



Also: Photo gallery, trailer and re-release trailer.





Final Thoughts: I’ve always been able to appreciate “Gump”, but I wouldn’t consider it to be one of my favorite films. It works, though - thanks to Hanks, the supporting cast as well as fine direction and a good script. Paramount’s DVD is their first 2 DVD set (hopefully the first of many!) and it’s a fine effort, with great audio/video quality and interesting supplemental features. Recommended.



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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Fahrenheit 9/11 Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) / Documentary

MPAA Rated: R for graphic scenes of war Running Time: 112 min. Director: Michael Moore Screenplay: Michael Moore

 

 

Try as I might to artfully sidestep taking sides in the debate over whether or not the US invasion (aka liberation) of Iraq is right or wrong proves to be an arduous task, as I generally try to weigh each film on its own merits as far as entertainment value, interest, and watchability.  Taken on those terms, documentarian and provocateur, Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me), has crafted quite an engaging piece of work once again, the kind of movie you can’t take your eyes off of, regardless of whether or not you buy every partisan point or dismiss it as utter hogwash.  While it isn’t as brilliant as his previous piece, Bowling for Columbine, Moore has definitely still delivered the goods here, a sometimes breathtaking look at a world-altering situation as played out through the media, press conferences, and small scale personal interviews.  It might be called liberal mud-slinging, but this mud is definitely sticky, and as a rallying cry for all Liberals and fence-sitters to get fired up to vote George W. out of office, Moore has pulled just enough of the right strings to effect a possible change in public opinion, at least for the time being. Moore’s film starts off with lamenting the fact that, like a bad dream, the 2000 election of George W. Bush over Al Gore should not have happened.  It’s a convoluted scenario to describe here without reliving it, but the gist of Moore’s complaint is that the political machine in place in the deciding state of Florida, as well as the Supreme Court, was a stacked deck just waiting to play the right cards to their man on the Right.  This is the first of many dominoes Moore tries to topple over in his unrelenting repudiation of this man who many feel is in over his head as President, letting his handlers and family business interests preside over his decision making.  Bush, Moore alleges, isn’t seeking what’s best for the country so much as what’s best for the corporations that own him, as well as the foreign investors, most notably Saudi Arabia (the country of Osama Bin Laden and most of the airplane hijackers involved in 9/11), and that our president used the 9/11 tragedy to induce enough fear, hate and resentment for an already planned invasion of Iraq.  After this, Moore picks apart the Iraq war, calling it a needless excursion that results in the deaths of countless innocent Iraqis, our underprivileged men and women serving, as well as fostering more hatred among countries who previously had no real reason to hate us. 

The only real problem with Fahrenheit 9/11 is that it ultimately doesn’t quite live up to its incendiary title.  Moore provides a lot of smoke, so much so that many will be convinced that there is a fire, but the string by which he ties everything together is really more as a result of educated guesses and wishful thinking than hard proof that G.W. is a doofus puppet president manipulated at the hands of evil corporations.  The end result is that those who already hate Bush will feel more justified in their feelings and those who love him will still feel like there is little proof in Moore’s accusations to think this isn’t the mad ramblings of a raving Liberal.  However, where Moore will prove successful in his message comes from not only solidifying the Liberal base, but from those viewers undecided in their feelings of the man in the White House.  Even if the evidence doesn’t completely find Bush guilty of all that Moore charges, the seeds of doubt will take root among many, fueling skepticism and possible disdain for the Iraq war and the legitimacy of Bush’s endeavors.  The downside to Fahrenheit 9/11 is the decidedly topical nature of the film.  The book on George W. Bush is far from closed, as the film has come out while he still holds office, so the facts aren’t really all in.  Moore’s mission is crystal clear in releasing this at the time he did: he wants to see Bush lose the 2004 election, and he’s going to put utilize everything in his arsenal of information to ensure success.  While it awaits to be seen just how much of an impact Moore will have, one thing is evident:  this is filmmaking at its most urgent and immediate, a true must-see movie that will have the nation talking about it for months to come.  Moore knows that Bush got into office by the slimmest of margins and that it might only take a little nudge to see him back out again, and with a volatile concoction like Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore, and the rest of the world that despise Bush, just might get their wish.  While Moore may not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bush is the horrible man he tries to paint him to be, the fact that he manages to dent the armor so proficiently makes this a success on many fronts.

© 2004 Vince Leo

   

 
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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Mousehunt Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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A lot of people didn’t care for “Mousehunt“, but it’s always been a favorite of mine - I think it’s not flawless, but it’s underrated. Combining the talents of two great comedic actors, the film is not quite for adults, but not quite for kids either - it’s sort of a kids film with an edge to it.

The plot is fairly simple - Ernie and Lars Smuntz (Nathan Lane and the hilarious Lee Evans) find themselves down on their luck, until they find that the house they’ve been left is a priceless antique. Everything seems to be going ok as they work to fix up the house, until they find out the house unfortunately has a mouse. A very, very smart mouse. Everything they could possibly throw at it seems to be unsuccessful, but the two actors are fairly entertaining at pulling off all of the slapstick that’s required throughout the film. The mouse work (I believe it’s a combination of animatronic, animation and real mice) is phenomenal, and the effects are remarkable.

Again, the two lead actors are funny, and although the film has a rather dark edge to it, I still find it very entertaining. It’s not for everyone, but I appreciate its sense of humor.


The DVD

VIDEO: This is a gorgeous anamorphic transfer from Dreamworks - it’s one of their first titles, and it’s a great effort. This is a breathtaking looking movie in terms of production, with great detail and texture to the main house set. It all looks great on the DVD, which is impressively sharp and clear. It’s not a colorful movie, but the dark palette used looks rich on this effort. Black level is excellent, and flesh tones are fine as well.

The picture doesn’t suffer from pixelation or shimmer, and the print used is in crystal clear condition, with not a scratch on it. This is a great effort and a beautiful looking image.

SOUND: The DTS version of “Mousehunt” is a wonderful experience for the ears. Beyond the incredibly fun and effective use of the surrounds, Alan Silvestri’s outstanding score has never sounded better. The score he composed for this film is so much fun - ominous at times, silly, light, dark, lively - it brings a great energy and life to the film, and the audio here sounds marvelous - the score sounds rich and impressively smooth, coming without problems from all around the viewer. Again, surrounds are put to use often and add greatly to the experience. There’s also some deep, rich bass on occasion. Dialogue is clear and natural, as well. The DTS version of “Mousehunt” is simply a pleasure to listen to, and a lot of fun.

MENUS:: The menus are a lot of fun - the mouse runs around the main menu, and the scene selection menus show animated clips of each chapter. When you make a selection, there’s animation as well.

EXTRAS: The DTS version does lack in the extra features department, coming up with only production notes/cast&crew bios.

Final Thoughts: The DTS version doesn’t have the extras(trailer/deleted scenes) of the Dolby Digital version, but the audio on the DTS version is definitely better - and I recommend the DTS version.


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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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“We can’t stop here. This is bat country.”

The Movie:
Terry Gilliam’s film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s counter-culture druggie classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a funhouse mirror of a movie. Staring into its warped perception of reality can be superficially amusing for a little while, but in very little time at all you start to realize that the picture you see is just ugly, meaningless, and rather boring. At the carnival you can move on after a few minutes and find something more entertaining to waste your time doing, but unfortunately Gilliam’s film drags on for an interminable two hours.

Johnny Depp stars as Thompson’s not-at-all-disguised alter ego Raoul Duke, a supposed journalist who spends every waking moment, along with his supposed lawyer Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), flying high on drugs, drugs, and more drugs, and after that a few other drugs to wash it all down. As the movie starts, Duke takes inventory of the stash in his trunk: “We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole multi-colored collection of uppers, downers, laughers, screamers… Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls.” Like a demented Boy Scout, he believes in coming prepared for the weekend. They are going to Vegas, after all. Sent on assignment to cover a dirt bike motocross in the Nevada desert, the pair spend their time acting like assholes, freaking out at the hallucinations all around them, trashing hotel rooms, and gawking at the straight world that, considering that it’s Las Vegas, is sometimes even more freakish than anything their addled minds could conjure up alone.

Through all of this, Thompson/Duke also provides, in a much calmer and reflective tone to contrast his manic behavior on screen, a running voiceover that narrates the proceedings… and narrates… and narrates… and narrates. The film has so much narration smothering every scene, read I would assume verbatim from the book, that it’s truly less a movie than an illustrated audio recording of the novel. At times the surreal poetry of Thompson’s writing comes through in the voiceover, but for most of the film it’s just a monotonous, never-ending drone.

Thompson was a pioneer of so-called “gonzo journalism”, which amounts to getting wasted and typing out half-poetic, half-incoherent ramblings about otherwise straightforward events. Fear and Loathing caused quite a sensation when it debuted in 1971. Subsequent generations of teenagers continue to find great meaning and depth in it. Getting high while reading probably helps. Ostensibly a comedy, the book and hence film offer commentary on the absurdity and hypocrisy of the normal world. The problem (and please keep in mind this comes from the perspective of someone with little interest in drug culture) is that all the story really demonstrates is that doing drugs makes you behave like a dangerous idiot, and doing drugs in a freakshow atmosphere like Las Vegas doubly so. Forgive me if I don’t find that particularly revelatory.

If anyone could adapt Thompson’s unadaptable prose for the screen, you’d think acclaimed fantasist Terry Gilliam would have a good shot at it. The director’s skewed visual imagination is an appropriate fit for the novel’s gonzo druggy style, and indeed he gets to indulge in all manor of outrageous hallucinatory weirdness here. But it’s all just too much. The story, such as it is, amounts to nothing more than an escalating series of nonsensical scenes that wallow in filth and unpleasantness. It’s gaudy, incoherent, and after a while just plain wearying to watch. Gilliam is undeniably a talented filmmaker, but he needs to learn to rein in his excesses. Measured doses of weirdness are more effective than the overkill upon overkill here.

Johnny Depp obviously put a lot of work into his impersonation of Hunter Thompson (a living caricature of a human being), mumbling his dialogue past the cigarette holder that never leaves his lips, but his mannerisms, accurate to the man though they may be, grow annoying quickly. The same applies to Del Toro’s depiction of the psychotic Dr. Gonzo. Are we meant to laugh at these wacky goofballs, or fear them for their hateful behavior? The movie is intended as a distorted exaggeration of reality, clearly, but it’s so exaggerated that all we can do in scene after scene is question how people like this could possibly stand upright, much less function.

For as long as human beings will continue to experiment with mind-altering substances, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas the novel will always have an audience. Gilliam’s film as well has developed a cult following, primarily of second-hand fans of the book. It really just doesn’t do it for me, personally. In fact, the entire enterprise comes across as a monumental waste of talent. It’s certainly not the director’s worst film, but definitely is a misfire from the man who brought us the masterpieces Brazil and 12 Monkeys.

The HD DVD:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas debuts on the HD DVD format courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

HD DVD discs are only playable in a compatible HD DVD player. They will not function in a standard DVD player or in a Blu-Ray player. Please note that the star rating scales for video and audio are relative to other High Definition disc content, not to traditional DVD.

Video:
The Fear and Loathing HD DVD is encoded on disc in High Definition 1080p format using VC-1 compression. The movie is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 with letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the 16:9 frame.

The transfer has an ample amount of both positives and negatives. In its favor, the picture is extremely sharp, clear, and detailed. It has wonderfully vibrant, surreal colors and a terrific sense of depth. There’s no denying that this is fine High Definition imagery, a significantly greater improvement over DVD than some of Universal’s recent titles like Traffic or Spartacus.

On the downside, the source elements used for the transfer have noticeable dirt and blemishes, including one serious scratch that runs down the entire height of the frame around the 1 hr. 27 min. mark. Edge enhancement halos also unfortunately intrude into a great many scenes, and the opening credits look strangely jaggy, like they’d been vertically filtered. The movie’s photography is frequently grainy, which I won’t hold against the disc, but in certain scenes the grain takes on an unpleasant noisy texture. All in all, this HD DVD is a mixed bag.

The Fear and Loathing HD DVD is not flagged with an Image Constraint Token and will play in full High Definition quality over an HD DVD player’s analog Component Video outputs.

Audio:
The movie’s soundtrack is provided in Dolby Digital Plus or lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 formats. Unfortunately, the disc seems to have authoring problems that result in the picture repeatedly freezing, skipping, and losing audio sync when selecting the TrueHD track. This has been reported by numerous viewers and I can confirm having that experience. The problem may be hardware-related as well, but is definitely triggered by something specific to the disc; I’ve had no such issues with any of the TrueHD tracks on Warner Bros. HD DVDs. As such, I had to give up trying to watch the movie with TrueHD audio and can really only comment on the quality of the DD+ track.

The film has an aggressive surround mix with all sorts of weird noises floating around the entire soundstage during the trippier drug sequences (which make up a good chunk of the movie). The sound design doesn’t incorporate a whole lot of bass, however. Fidelity on the DD+ track is decent but not exceptional. What I listened to of the TrueHD track was noticeably richer and fuller. Depp and Del Toro both mumble the majority of their dialogue, which is frequently unintelligible in the mix, requiring you to back up scenes repeatedly to catch what they said.

Subs & Dubs:
Optional subtitles – English captions for the hearing impaired, French, or Spanish.
Alternate language tracks - French or Spanish DD+ 2.0.

Extras:
The disc’s interactive menus are accompanied by annoying beeping sound effects for every selection that can be turned off if you desire (and I recommend it). All of the bonus features on this HD DVD title are recycled from the DVD edition and are presented in Standard Definition video with MPEG2 compression.

All of the supplements from Universal’s original, rather sparse DVD release have carried over. Unfortunately, we don’t get any of the exclusive features from the more elaborate Criterion Collection DVD.

• Spotlight on Location (10 min.) – A typical EPK promo piece featuring interviews with Gilliam, Depp, and Del Toro. It’s all very fluffy and promotional. Nothing significant can be learned here.
• Deleted Scenes (11 min.) – Four scenes are presented in rough workprint condition, one with a lengthy stretch without audio. There’s a very silly prologue that couldn’t ever work. The rest all run too long and were cut for pacing.
• Theatrical Trailer (2 min.) – The trailer doesn’t sell the film well at all.

Final Thoughts:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a mess of a movie that wastes the talents of Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, and even Hunter S. Thompson. It has its fans, but even after repeated attempts I can’t number myself among them. The HD DVD is a mixed bag in terms of picture, sound, and supplements. Those who are fans of the movie will want to hold onto the Criterion Collection DVD for its wealth of superior bonus features. Casual viewers can stick with a rental.

Related Articles:
The Brothers Grimm (HD DVD)
Finding Neverland (HD DVD)
Sleepy Hollow (HD DVD)
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (Blu-ray)
Traffic (HD DVD)
HD Review Index
High-Def Revolution – DVDTalk’s HD Column
Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD Player

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“Ladder 49,” set in present-day Baltimore, marshals the talents of Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta and a series of exploding fireballs to tell the story of Jack Morrison, a dedicated firefighter and family man who, upon getting trapped in a flaming warehouse, uses the downtime until rescue to celebrate the moments of his life. As a loving tribute to the courage and sacrifice of firefighters, it’s first-class. As a movie, it’s a TV show. Still, it’s always hard to criticize a film that wraps itself in the woolly blanket of real people’s heroism. It’s meant to be a homage, and it plays like one. Medals are awarded; speeches are given. But the whole thing goes on a little too long and devolves into an evening spent with somebody else’s scrapbook. ADVERTISEMENT “Ladder 49” kicks off, like an episode of “Third Watch,” amid wailing sirens, hovering choppers and the kind of rousing music that often leads to teeth-grinding. Jack and his engine company rush into a blazing warehouse to rescue a trapped worker. The man is saved, but Jack gets stuck inside. Upon hearing this, his mentor, Capt. Mike Kennedy (Travolta), lets a flicker pass through his steely-eyed squint, then sends in the team. Lying on what appears to be a large pile of concrete briquettes, Jack replays the highlights of his years as a hero, family man and all-around great guy. Luckily, the memories line up in chronological order so the rest of us can follow. Scenes from the blazing warehouse punctuate the good times, and memories are sparked by some very literal transitions. (A flashback to his son’s christening, for instance, is sparked by water dripping on Jack’s forehead.) We see Jack joining the force, getting teased by his colleagues, putting out his first fire, meeting the girl of his dreams, getting married, every second underscored with mood-appropriate music. (Jack’s first day on the job? Irish jig! Building on fire? Military march!) This is not to say that “Ladder 49” has nothing to offer; the rescue scenes are suitably tense and harrowing, with convincing special effects, and the performances are uniformly strong. Phoenix is particularly fine as the salt-of-the-earth Jack. The actor has a smallish head, a thick neck and greenish eyes like lily pads, which suggest depth, serenity and a certain type of chunky solidity. His marred prettiness only adds to his appeal. Phoenix’s Jack is shy, confident, simple, strong, reliable and impish. He’s everything women, children and terrified businessmen on ledges love in a man. And it never even goes to his head. As Mike, Travolta, as ever, is Travolting — in a good way. He exudes an oily charm that’s at once irresistible and disturbing. It’s hard not to note that the amaranthine hotness of Jack’s wife, Linda (Jacinda Barrett) — the movie transpires over 10 years and two children with nary a wrinkle, pooch or gray hair — would not be lost on the great, slab-like Mike. But you’ll have to squelch those thoughts. Not only does Mike possess unassailable moral fiber, he’s even brushed with messianic overtones. After a fight breaks out between Jack and Lenny (Robert Patrick), the resident company jerk, Mike barges in, overturns some furniture and bellows, “Not in my house!” Barrett is convincing as the long-suffering, but supportive, hero’s wife, although the model is strictly cinematic. She’s willowy and tender and doesn’t get too mad when Jack comes home drunk. No wonder Jack remains dewy-eyed throughout. But between “Ladder 49’s” often prosaic dialogue, its ploddingly episodic plot, and a symphonic score that works so hard to express emotion that you might as well give your synapses the night off, it’s more likely you’ll wind up suffering from compassion fatigue than be drawn in to the story. Unless, of course, you’re still dreaming of growing up to be a fireman. ‘Ladder 49‘ MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense fire and rescue situations, and for language Times guidelines: Fire and rescue scenes could be scary for young children. Jack Morrison…Joaquin Phoenix Capt. Mike Kennedy…John Travolta Linda Morrison…Jacinda Barrett Lenny Richter…Robert Patrick Tommy Drake…Morris Chestnut Touchstone Pictures and Beacon Pictures present a Casey Silver production, released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Director Jay Russell. Written by Lewis Colick. Producer Casey Silver. Executive producers Armyan Bernstein, Marty P. Ewing. Director of photography James L. Carter. Editors Bud S. Smith, M. Scott Smith. Production designer Tony Burrough. Costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus. Visual Eeffects Ssupervisor Peter Donen. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. In general release.
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Bachelor Party Vegas Reviewed By Scott Weinberg Posted 05/22/06 16:54:23

"Someone give Donald Faison a REAL movie role. Please." (Pretty Bad)

One look at the DVD case tells you all you need to know about Eric Bernt’s Bachelor Party Vegas (which, for the record, is no relation to the Tom Hanks Bachelor Party semi-classic from 1984) — it’s stupid, it’s raunchy, it’s full of semi-famous names, and it’s cheaply made.First-time director Bernt has the following screenwriter/story credits:Surviving the Game (1994)Virtuosity (1995)Romeo Must Die (2000)Highlander: Endgame (2000)Bachelor Party Vegas (2006)Having seen all of those movies, and having nothing personal against Mr. Bernt, I must say this: Yikes.BPV is about five guys who roam through all of Las Vegas, participating in a series of "wacky" adventures before capping the night off with a finale I won’t spoil — but I will say this: If director David Fincher and screenwriters John Broncato & Michael Ferris decide to file a plagiarism lawsuit against Eric Bernt, they’d have some pretty strong evidence.Anyway, the "wacky" adventures include paintball with hot sex as the first prize, a lap dance from an obese slob, a casino heist, a porn shoot, a… You get the point.There are very few laughs to be found amidst the silliness. My 2-star rating might be seen as a little bit generous after you see the movie, but there’s something about Donald Faison that always makes me laugh. Even in the lamest flicks (King’s Ransom, for example), Faison delivers a few chuckles — and he does so here. Thank god for small favors. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag, at best.Front and center is Kal Penn, a guy who’s been pretty amusing in stuff like American Pie and Harold and Kumar, but he’s clearly not an actor accustomed to elevating material this dim. As the allegedly likable groom-to-be, Jonathan Bennett is as mildly charming as his character is blandly written. The rest of the party crew (in other words, the fat one and the geek one) are borderline insufferable.Peppered throughout the proceedings are folks like Lin Shaye, Daniel Stern, Vincent Pastore, and (in a bizarrely pointless cameo) the lovely Jaime Pressly. None of the gimmick cameos contribute a whole hell of a lot. (Unless, of course, your final goal in life is to see Kathy Griffin portray an Elvis impersonator / spaghetti wrestler.)Produced by the guys who brought you "The Ultimate Fighting Championship" (which explains why UFC Champ Chuck Liddell gets to play the flick’s head thug, and poorly), Bachelor Party Vegas is 4 or 5 mild chuckles hidden within 85 minutes of crotch & dildo schtick.(© Review reprinted from DVDTalk, with permission from the author (me) and the DVDT management. For the full DVD specs on this particular movie, please visit www.DVDTalk.com and get friendly with the search bar.)
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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Pearl Harbor Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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This film may not be filled with the action that we saw in Tora Tora Tora
(1960’s) and Pearl Harbor (2001), but I thought it had a good inside look
to
how the people of Hawaii actually felt after being bombed by
Japan.

Good historial film, showed as propaganda ( i presume ) and worth a look
at.
It is extremely rare to find, so try if you can!!

RATING: worth looking at!

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Idiocracy Reviewed By Rob Gonsalves Posted 01/13/07 15:17:33

"It’s got electrolytes!" (Worth A Look)

Mike Judge knows a bit about stupidity. His obituary creation — whatever else he does, and whether he likes it or not — will be Beavis & Butt-Head, a knowing satire of American morons that also happened to appeal to American morons (as well as smart people). Well, Judge has seen the future, and the future is so dumb it would find Beavis & Butt-Head refined and "faggy."Idiocracy, consigned to a quick seven-city run before emerging on DVD, concerns an entirely average low-level Army bureaucrat, Pvt. Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), who gets cryogenically frozen for what’s supposed to be a year. Instead, Joe wakes up five hundred years later, when the gene pool has been befouled by generations of heedlessly reproducing morons. The result is a world — or an America — in thrall to corporate slogans and distracted by TV shows like Ow! My Balls! and the multiple-Oscar-winning film Ass.If you don’t find this premise all that far-fetched, you might find Idiocracy less funny than depressing. Like all good dystopian visions, it extrapolates the nightmare of the future from the nightmare of the present. (Dana Stevens of Slate has compared Idiocracy to Children of Men.) Judge never names President George W. Bush, but he doesn’t have to; the movie fulfills every liberal intellectual’s wildest dark fantasies about the takeover of smirking brutes. Judge’s barbs are essentially apolitical, though; after all, Beavis & Butt-Head were created during the Clinton administration. If anything, Idiocracy aims its venom at corporatized culture, which existed long before Dubya and will exist long after he steps down.Accompanied by fellow cryogenic subject Rita (Maya Rudolph), a prostitute in constant fear that her pimp Upgrayedd will somehow track her down, Joe attempts to deal with a world in which he’s the smartest person alive. He’s put in jail, then released and promoted to Secretary of the Interior by current president Camacho (Terry Crews), who hopes a man as smart as Joe might be able to fix society’s many problems — the dead crops, the heaps of garbage, the failed "ecomony." One problem is that water has been replaced by "Brawndo," a Gatorade-type sports drink. Why? Because Brawndo now owns the FDA. Idiocracy gets a lot of mileage out of the same stupid humor it condemns, which is fine — so did Beavis & Butt-Head. But there’s considerable wit in the production design, as crammed with satirical detail as a Mad comics panel by Bill Elder. Some of the corporations in the film are made up, but some aren’t — I can’t imagine Starbucks being thrilled with the idea of their stores someday becoming hand-job havens. Judge imagines a society completely given over to sex, violence, and immediate gratification. This satirist is aptly named — he sits in scornful judgment of what he sees us becoming.It’s been said that Idiocracy’s release was suppressed by Fox bigwig Rupert Murdoch, who didn’t take kindly to the film’s broadsides against real corporations. (Fox News gets bitch-slapped in the movie, too.) If true, that sucks, but I’d rather believe that than reflect on why the company is only too happy to release bilge like Night at the Museum or Deck the Halls (movies that might appeal to the groundlings in Idiocracy).I was entertained and fascinated throughout, but I didn’t find myself laughing much. This might be because it’s tough to laugh at a future vision of widespread stupidity during a time of widespread stupidity. I look forward to a time when I can safely laugh at ‘Idiocracy,’ but that time may not come any time soon. I don’t think Mike Judge expects that it will, either.
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The Product:
It’s long been a maxim of the business. Want to get your start in film? Make a horror movie. It’s the easiest genre to gain acceptance in, and has a built in fanbase ready to defend even the most mediocre efforts. Unlike a drama, or comedy, you don’t need good acting or great scripting to succeed. Just get a semi-competent cast, toss in a few phony body parts and a couple of gallons of fake blood and you’ve got yourself some product. Even the direction and overall production design doesn’t matter – aficionados dig the fear artifice more than the actual motion picture art. Obviously, there are a great many flaws in such a career rationale. A bad fright flick can doom you just as easily as a tepid thriller or below-average action effort – and believe it or not, as wiling as they are to accept you, horror fans will turn on you at the drop of a disaster (right, Tobe Hooper?). It’s within this prickly premise in mind that jack-of-all-cinematic-trades Doug Schulze offers up his 1992 spectacle Hellmaster. Oddly enough, it manages to both believe in and belittle each and every piece of advice offered regarding starting out in horror. As a first film it’s barely acceptable. As an unbelievably bad bit of borderline retardation, it’s resplendent.

The Plot:
Sometime back in the ’60s, the government asked Professor Jones of the Kant Institute for the Gifted to create an experimental drug that would render geniuses even smarter. Experimenting on homeless people, Jones developed a highly addictive concoction called “The Reward” which makes its users strong. Unfortunately, its sole side effect is a tendency toward bloodlust and homicide. When his trials on the school’s students proved fatal, Jones goes underground, and would have stayed there had an investigative reporter named Robert not looked into the scandal. Now a hopeless recluse living in the campuses abandoned chapel, Robert is convinced Jones is still around. When a new group of undergraduates prove powerful enough to spur his interest, Jones returns, and brings a few of his lab rat failures along for the killing spree. Determined to find the right combination of mental and physical fortitude to continue his work, the Professor and his pack of ferocious killers pick off their potential test subjects one by one. Eventually, all that’s left is Robert, and young student Shelly. She must try and save the day while defeating Jones. It’s the only way to keep this Hellmaster from destroying the world.

The DVD:
How does one begin to discuss Hellmaster? Would a standard ‘huh‘ do? How about a slangy ‘what the f*ck’? Maybe a good ‘um, excuse me‘ would sum it up properly? Or maybe, just maybe, a straightforward ‘what was that‘ does the job best? Whatever the case may be and however you decipher this hopelessly handicapped epic, you sure won’t be cognizant of anything that first time filmmaker Douglas Schulze is or was intending. With a plot that tends to cut out the narrative middle man and only focus on a few dozen finales, and a sense of the supernatural that is more scattered than scary, this junior jumble of a genre joke is about the most laugh out loud ludicrous film to ever come out of the state of Michigan. Made with what appears to be a sledgehammer filled with subtlety, and confusing religion with rationale for all the so-called macabre going on, Schulze can’t decide if he’s making a zombie flick, a possession film, a conspiracy theory thriller or a typical teen slasher movie. Hellmaster incorporates all these elements into its overbaked narrative, and then throws in some riffs on Clive Barker’s Cenobites and Street Trash’s human meltdown mannerisms, and calls it a diabolical day. Oddly enough, the results are ridiculous, yet end up being so brazenly baffling that you can’t help but watch. Kind of like a car wreck, only with more casualties.

Perhaps Hellmaster is a movie that works better in snippets. After all, one does get a bit of a scary movie stiffee the minute Dawn of the Dead’s David “Flyboy” Emge appears as a reporter turned homeless hero, and the presence of genre stalwart John Saxon is good for a little horror horniness as well. But both end up being underused, their characters nothing more than archetypes (mad doctor, ruined man seeking redemption) operating on autopilot. As for the cast of potential victims, none stands out or manages to make us care. Even our self-loathing “cripple” Joel is like Jimmy Volmer without the stand-up comedy - or South Park’s cutting edge social satire. Basically, he’s just bum legs and a really sour attitude. Other blink and you’ll miss them members of this goofy gang include a right-wing wacko who carries a whip (???) as his means of self defense, a wussified wimp who, naturally, is given a gun and told to save the day, and a blond bimbette who watches her boyfriend get butchered by Saxon’s so-called “monkey man” and then idly walks back to the rest of her pals. As a potential slaughter party, this group is guaranteed to make the villains look viable by comparison. Unfortunately, Schulze messes that up too. Our bad guys are the kind of giggling, snickering sickos that fail to do anything really menacing. They talk a good game, and are handy with the homemade scythes, but when it comes to being true bad asses, Zoltan the Hound from Hell is far more sinister.

So why should one care about this poorly realized wretchedness? Well, frankly, it’s rare to see such a completely incompetent film. Usually, directors strive to give their productions pacing, characterization, logic, professionalism, tone, mood, atmosphere, thematic resonance, emotional underpinning and some manner of inherent or implied entertainment value. Hellmaster is blissfully ignorant of such cinematic standards. Instead, it works within its own idiosyncratic sense of reason, randomly accessing action without explanation, and killing off people without the first pretense of providing a motive. Like a psychedelic sideshow where the geeks all drop acid and regurgitate their chicken heads onto a mostly comatose crowd, this film defies description. Name another film that would present its antagonists as a ragtag group of religious evangelists, all decked out in nun’s habits, shirts and ties and driving a dilapidated bus with the name ‘Happy Face Bible School’ on the side. Point to another plot – aside from the one in Bride of the Monster – where a doctor is determined to create a race of super humans for his own unholy bidding (something to do with stealing souls, or sucking spirits, or just plain sucking). From its overuse of red lighting (with nary a Roxanne in sight) to the Creeple People goop that substitutes for the acid-based killer drug, Hellmaster is a friggin’ fabulous disaster. If you are a bad movie maven, you will instantly cotton to Schulze’s corrupt creation. All others be warned – this flaccid film is not for the weak willed or aesthetically brittle.

The Video:
No, Hellmaster wasn’t filmed during a blizzard. The snow you see is the result of numerous scratches and specs of dirt littered along the 1.33:1 transfer. To call this a less than stellar image is like calling this film a post-modern macabre classic. The colors are muted (except for the everpresent reddish-pink mood lighting utilized) and the picture is murky and overly dark. While it’s not as bad as something like, say, Shadows Run Black, it is still pretty close to a digital disaster.

The Audio:
Recorded with what appears to be a microphone with a directional mind of its own, some of the dialogue, especially at the beginning, is indistinct. The Dolby Digital Stereo mix is a mess, with music too loud and effects constantly overwhelming the conversations. Even more unusual, the credits include mention of dubbed voices for many of the “monsters” in the movie. It just goes to show you how unexceptional this aural offering is that we barely notice…or care.

The Extras:
Aside from a self-congratulatory commentary from writer/director Schulze and producer Kurt Eli Maryr and a photo gallery/collection of conceptual art, there is nothing else of substance on this basically bottom barrel DVD release. As for the alternate narrative track, it’s passable. Finally given an opportunity to defend their film, Schulze and Maryr try like ‘heck’ to make sense of the scrambled storyline before them. Loaded with excuses and technical mumbo jumbo, you can feel the pride pouring out of these guys. Granted, it is their movie, but the professionalism they profess is just not up on the screen. Also, this version of the film is considered the “Unrated Director’s Cut”. Supposedly, you’re getting more insanity for your sawbuck this time around.

Final Thoughts:
How you respond to Hellmaster will depend greatly on your inner desire to dispense with many of the fright flick pleasantries and simply enjoy a manically mangled motion picture. While not the greatest cinematic atrocity ever foisted on a genre-loving public, this movie may also drive you to disavow your love of all things scary. As a result, it is probably a potent litmus test for one’s true dread tendencies, and deserves a Recommended rating on that factor alone. Others will argue that something so scattered, so lost in its own sense of lunatic logic deserves to be despised, not defended, and on some level, those sentiments are valid. No one will ever call this film a Hellmasterpiece. Yet, every once in a while, a cinematic category has a right not to take itself so seriously, or sanely. As perplexing as it is peculiar, and visa versa, Hellmaster is not just so bad it’s good – it’s so terrible it’s terrific. In the realm of b-movie cheese, it’s cheddarific!

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