Robs takes on Media and Entertainment

I wish we pronounced cinema with a hard ‘c’, so I could have won the [Pick 4] alliteration lottery. “Quick Change” (1990) and “Welcome to Collinwood” (2002) - two examples of the same genre. Each less than 90 minutes. Both filled with brilliant cast. “Quick Change” is a four person show, while “Welcome to Collinwood” is what I would call an ensemble. Similar budgets. Director / Cinematography / Editing / Music are all good in both. For what they are - efficient & effective use of their budgets. So - what sets them apart?  “QC” has a story that is efficiently entertaining > “QC” is brisk - the main and supporting characters have enough room to shine. It is based on a book, and the screenwriter knew what to do with the source material. I would not call it brilliant or inspired, but it is fun from top to bottom. “WtC” falls well short of that > How can you take W.H.Macy, Isaiah Washington, Sam Rockwell, Michael Jeter (in his final role), Luis Guzman, Patricia Clarkson, Jenni...

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a master class in pacing and storytelling - especially for a movie which I am sure is put together as “OK - so here is a list of action scenes we want to create, here is a list of stunts we want to do - lets wrap a plot around that”. It rides the action in waves and gives you just the right amount of time to unclinch yourself from the theater seat. Story wise, there was just one loose end - a setup I thought would pay off but ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. For that character, I hope they grow and can get on with their life. As for the action & stunts themselves (which is why you go see a JW movie), they were really well done. The cinematography was fantastic. They were a nice blend of CGI and practical. The CGI was only obvious in a few places. In this movie world of absurdity, the CGI was appropriately absurd. I didn’t look ahead of time to know any of the supporting cast, and so I called out “Oh cool - Clancy Brown!” when he showed up. He didn’t have enou...

"Crimewave" is a zany comedy-¿horror? movie by Sam Raimi. It is told as a flashback from the a guy who you might think you recognize from that thing, but it turns out you have never watched anything he has been in. It is about a murder for hire scheme that he ends up being framed for. Bruce Campbell plays one of his best characters as The Heel ("You get the cab baby - I don't want to break a $100" or "I've never seen you here before. I like that in a woman."). Brion James and Paul Smith play the hit men. You will recognized Smith as Beast Rabban from "Dune" (1984). Those guys are gonzo. A young Frances McDormand is in it for a couple minutes. Sheree Wilson (from Walker Texas Ranger) plays the heroine. It was written by the Raimi + Coen Bros (which explains why Frances is in it). It is like watching an 80 minute Three Stooges film. Lots of sound effects and a jazzy score. It is PG13, so I think the 'horror' aspects comes from the t...

What if we remade JAWS, except on a mountain side with a bear? Then we get “Grizzly” (1976). This thing has a groovy orchestral score, a well-acted cast, and a live Grizzly. Christopher George (from Rat Patrol) plays the Brody, a guy I didn’t recognize plays Hooper, and Richard Jaeckel (who means The Dirty Dozen to me) is the Quint. Teddy is the bear playing Bruce the shark. There is a Mrs Brody, but after playing a prominent role for Act 1 she just sort of evaporates somewhere in Act 2 - I have no idea where she went.   All in, this is a VERY true JAWS knock off - almost beat for beat. It was fun.   If you prefer knock offs that Die Hard, I suggest “Assault on Dome 4” (1996). This is Die Hard on Mars. Joe Culp (Robert’s son) plays McLean, a former soap opera star plays Ms Genero, and Bruce “the chin” Campbell plays Hans Gruber. James Lew plays the long haired vindictive guy. They make a mess of the Al character - but Ray Baker does what he can with that role. They manage to s...

"Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1" - plot summary: umm yeah [eyes roll askance] like, there isn't really a plot.   Some dude killed some other dude and his clan arranged a duel to avenge the death. Instead of a duel, they intend to ambush him with 400 samurai - before the movie started. So we sit around with 400 guys waiting on the one guy and dribble that exposition for about 8 minutes and then the title card (and there is a nice cgi butterfly which gets a call back in the last 5 minutes) - then we begin a 70+ minute long one-shot of a one-on-many sword battle through a landscape that reminded me of central Texas and a conveniently staged Japanese ghost town.   The 1-guy hacks the 400. He boinks a lot of them on the top of the head - I found this technique surprisingly effective. For variety, there is a very short exchange with a shirtless guy with a chain, some crude dialogue between two of the 400 about cowardice, and a young woman with a bundle of firewood walks through. Those...