Monday, November 8, 2010
James Cameron announces his retirement from movie directing.
Actually this is an old story from the 90s. After the release of True Lies Cameron decided to switch occupations to become a contractor. His first major construction job was titled Titanic to be followed years later by another construction job called Avatar. Cameron is actually a talented and creative guy, and it's a shame he gave up making movies. The Terminator is a genuine classic, and Aliens, Terminator 2, and True Lies are certainly above average action films. Judging by his future work schedule it appears this career shift is permanent. How unfortunate.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Movie Otter's Overlooked Gems: The Frighteners (1996)
Once upon a time Peter Jackson made humorously malevolent horror films before abandoning his idiosyncratic style for the world of mega-budget commercialism. The Frighteners, his stepping stone to the big time, somehow has been trapped in a limbo bridging the two distinct identities of Jackson. Anyone who knows Jackson only by his cumbersome and endless Lord of the Rings trilogy might be surprised at the brisk pacing of The Frighteners. The film never stops to breathe.
Jackson gives the genre of the dead new life by combining Ghost with Natural Born Killers by way of The Sting, and he manages to steer through its cliche ridden mine field unscathed. Michael J. Fox, in one of his best adult roles, is Frank Bannister, a paranormal scam artist. His ability to communicate with the dead is fodder for an ingenious con game. Bannister sends his ghost buddies to haunt a designated house, and he saves the day by "cleaning" the house for a fee. The comedic premise turns darker as he becomes the suspect in a series of mysterious deaths perpetrated by the ghost of a deranged mass murderer, Johnny Bartlett (Jake Busey). Bannister's climactic confrontation with Bartlett is heightened by the seamless juxtaposition of images of Bartlett's earlier murder spree.
Packed within its concise structure is a narrative of surprising complexity. This isn't Ghostbusters spoofery for the masses. Cult icon Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) is a standout as a psychopathically squirrelly FBI agent, proving that this truly great character actor should be utilized more often by mainstream Hollywood. R. Lee Ermey has a goofy cameo as a crazed military ghost not unlike his signature role in Full Metal Jacket, and it surprisingly never feels obtrusive. Maybe the ending veers a little too close to heartwarming, but that is a minor quibble for a film that is among the very best of its genre.
Jackson gives the genre of the dead new life by combining Ghost with Natural Born Killers by way of The Sting, and he manages to steer through its cliche ridden mine field unscathed. Michael J. Fox, in one of his best adult roles, is Frank Bannister, a paranormal scam artist. His ability to communicate with the dead is fodder for an ingenious con game. Bannister sends his ghost buddies to haunt a designated house, and he saves the day by "cleaning" the house for a fee. The comedic premise turns darker as he becomes the suspect in a series of mysterious deaths perpetrated by the ghost of a deranged mass murderer, Johnny Bartlett (Jake Busey). Bannister's climactic confrontation with Bartlett is heightened by the seamless juxtaposition of images of Bartlett's earlier murder spree.
Packed within its concise structure is a narrative of surprising complexity. This isn't Ghostbusters spoofery for the masses. Cult icon Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) is a standout as a psychopathically squirrelly FBI agent, proving that this truly great character actor should be utilized more often by mainstream Hollywood. R. Lee Ermey has a goofy cameo as a crazed military ghost not unlike his signature role in Full Metal Jacket, and it surprisingly never feels obtrusive. Maybe the ending veers a little too close to heartwarming, but that is a minor quibble for a film that is among the very best of its genre.
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