183. The Runaways
184. Last House on the Left (2009)
185. Syngenor
186. Midnight Meat Train
The Runaways is the feature directorial debut of Floria Sigismondi. Prior to this, she's been known more for her music videos.
This one tells the story of iconic 70s punk band, The Runaways. They were the first of their kind...a band made up of females playing fast and loud music was unheard of back in its day. Prior to them, girls were either singers or groupies. They weren't onstage shredding the electric guitar. Joan Jett was a teenage guitarist looking for a band. A chance meeting with record producer Kim Fowley started her down the path to recognition and fame.
This was a solid flick. The story is pretty interesting. Biopics typically fascinate me. Even more so when it's about someone that I'm actually semi-familiar with. The movie is a bit skewed towards Jett and singer Cherie Currie, focusing almost exclusively on them and their relationship. Other members such as Lita Ford and Sandy West are barely made mention of and are really relegated to minor roles. Jett is played by Kristen Stewart. Anyone who bashes her for being a poor actress needs to check their heads. She's great here, disappearing into Jett, even going so far as to do all of her own singing and guitar slinging. As Currie, Dakota Fanning is even better, turning in a solid performance. This role is definitely indicative that she has a ton of potential. Support comes from Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton and Alia Shawkat.
Overall, in terms of biopics, this is a pretty good one. As I said, it's definitely not all encompassing but it is really worth watching for the performances alone. I recommend it.
Last House on the Left is the 2009 remake of Wes Craven's 1972 film.
Mari and her family head out to their lake house for a much needed vacation. The year prior, Mari's brother Ben, passed away. Unfortunately for the family, also in the area are Krug, an escaped convict and his family. Mari encounters Krug's son at a convenience store where her friend Paige is working. They're convinced to go back to the hotel where Krug and company are staying to get some weed. Things don't work out quite according to plan.
In 1972, the original came across as quite shocking to people who weren't used to seeing such violence portrayed on the screen. The movie was extremely controversial for its time and eventually fell under the UK's Video Nasties act of the early 1980s, effectively banning it. While the original was extremely violent, there were also scenes of comic relief involving a pair of bumbling sheriffs. While the original was a movie I enjoyed, it's kind of cheesy. How does the remake compare?
I actually prefer the remake, to be honest. In terms of story, it's not just brutal violence. There's actually character development, particularly with Mari. The humor is gone. And because of that, the movie actually builds tension and remains tense throughout. There's no laughs to pull you out of the violence in this one. This movie's pretty brutal with some scenes that actually made me cringe. The stars here are Sara Paxton, Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn. All are solid. Krug and his family are played by Garrett Dillahunt, Aaron Paul, Riki Lindhome and Spencer Treat Clark. Dillahunt and Clark are highlights as Krug and son.
Overall, Last House on the Left is one of those rare cases where a remake is better than the original. It's definitely worth a watch.
Syngenor is the 1990 sequel to Scared to Death.
When I was a kid, I saw the monster from these movies in Fangoria magazine and was intrigued by it. It had a really cool look, like a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon and one of the titular aliens from the movie Alien. I never managed to see either movie until this one.
A syngenor is a SYNthesized GENetic ORganism. It's been designed by Norton Cyberdyne to provide the army with an unstoppable super soldier. They're safely locked up in the basement at Cyberdyne until an employee releases one, essentially beginning a massive killing spree.
This movie is just plain bad. The story is pretty weak and chock full of plot holes and huge gaps in logic. The acting is bad as well with Starr Andreef and Mitchell Laurance as the leads. David Gale, more notable for Re-Animator is the only saving grace here as a CEO who is absolutely batshit crazy.
Syngenor offers a cool monster design and a fun performance from David Gale. Not nearly enough to make it worth watching. Skip it.
Midnight Meat Train is based on a short story by Clive Barker.
Leon is a photographer in New York City. His specialty is gritty shots of the city as it is. He's often out in the early hours of the morning, snapping photos of the riffraff that lurks the streets at those hours. One night, he stumbles upon a girl being accosted by a group of thugs and gets involved, saving her from them. She gets onto the subway and disappears into safety. Or so Leon thinks. The next day, Leon sees a newspaper article saying that she's been reported missing. He does some investigating and discovers that there is something sinister happening on the subway.
I enjoyed this movie, for the most part. The story was interesting. Coming from the mind of Clive Barker, that really doesn't come as a great surprise to me. My only complaint is that the pacing felt a bit off, taking a bit too long to get moving. It does make up for it near the end. The tension builds as Leon digs a bit too deep into what's really happening on the subway. The cast is solid with Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb and Vinnie Jones as the leads. Solid support comes from Brooke Shields and Roger Bart.
Overall, Midnight Meat Train is worth checking out.
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