calsinic Reviews

The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Town Where No One Got Off (1986) Season 1, Episode 4

Pretty chilling

[8/10 · 29 August 2013]

This a satisfying episode of this series even though it doesn't pay off in the way that one would suspect, given how the story builds. This is a story that could've ended in one of two ways & I think either would've still been fine. This episode chose to end it by leaving it up to the viewer to ponder whether Cogswell really was carrying a gun with him that he intended to stop in an unsuspecting town & murder someone or if he simply came up with the best defense he could when backed into a corner by a man who has now made known his intention to kill Cogswell, just because he's always fantasized about killing someone who got off a train. The episode does a good job of leaving that debate open, while Cogswell (acted with a pitch perfect arrogant naivety by Jeff Goldblum)did seem to be just a curious man met with a surprising & suspicious hostility by the quiet, small town he also SEEMED perfectly fine accompanying a strange old man who had been stalking him into an abandoned building. No one would be that naive, would they? It also ends with Cogswell jumping on a train (that appropriately enough only stops when an emergency flare is on the tracks, hinting that he tossed the flare...perhaps out of fear?) & when asked if he found what he was looking for has a face that is a perfect mix of disappointment & horror.

The other way that this story could've ended would've been more of a twist, which would be with we as the viewer being the only ones aware of the old man's ulterior motives only to have Cogswell in a shocking turn shoot the man & explain coldly how they shared the same fantasy. Of course that would've definitely left us with less to think about after, which I think for horror anthology tales the ones that keep you thinking are always the scariest.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Lonely One (1992) Season 6, Episode 1

Your classic suspense tale

[9/10 · 27 August 2013]

The only reason it isn't a perfect 10 is that I didn't like that the main character's needless, almost for show bravery didn't backfire. Really her (alluded to at least) demise is in a manner that could've happened to her no matter what, maybe had she made a point of leaving her window open or been asked by her friend "Shouldn't you lock your window?" & waived it off, it would've been more ironic. Maybe that is the point in that she was intentionally tempting fate in so many other ways that ultimately it was a simple hurried mistake that did her in.

I disagree with the other review's suspicion of Officer Kennedy being the killer, I think he was meant to be a red herring so that Lavinia's trip through her short-cut would have it's maximum suspense. I believe the idea was that we were supposed to feel at ease for Lavinia after she had survived the ravine where a body had been found earlier.

All in all a great episode, very much your classic suspense story, very Hitchcockian. Joanna Cassidy is flawless as Lavinia.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Zero Hour (1992) Season 5, Episode 2

A perfectly creepy tale

[8/10 · 27 August 2013]

There is some awful acting in this (the husband in particular comes to mind) but I think overall this is a good adaptation of a great Bradbury story. There are good takeaways from it to ponder as well: 1. The consequences of a world where adults are increasingly obligated to spend more time working (take notice of the fact that both the main character & her husband are working on Saturday) which turns parenting into short segments of the day.

2. Even if world peace were possible, is being less guarded & defensive among our fellow Earthlings a gateway to becoming the victim of enemies whose existence might not be known to us for the pure fact that they've identified us as capable of defending ourselves? For science-fiction fans that might make more sense.

3. As times continually change has the world become a place where it simply is no longer safe for children to be running around unsupervised ANYWHERE? While the villains in this story are the epitome of fictional, are they much different from the real-life & online predators waiting to prey on naive & trusting children? One can't help but notice in this story that had these parents been more watchful of their children's playing that "zero hour" never would've come to be.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Let's Play Poison (1992) Season 5, Episode 7

A pretty big waste of time, no payoff

[4/10 · 27 August 2013]

The only reason I didn't give this the lowest score possible was the ending is certainly very creepy & disturbing. However it doesn't make up for how little the story rewards you for sticking with it. It is:

1. Awful thing happens to good student 2. Teacher retires from teaching because of awful thing 3. Teacher is promised that things have changed at school & returns 4. Awful thing happens to teacher for no discernible reason

I'm not sure if maybe the original story had more of an explanation for what happens, but this seems to be another Ray Bradbury story that for some reason the theme is "Kids can be evil & there is no stopping them".

The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Playground (1985) Season 1, Episode 2

Good although a little confusing

[20 August 2013]

I'd recommend first time viewers really pay attention to the scene where Shatner's character is telling the story of his childhood bullying at the playground. You're still left to wonder exactly what is going on with the ending, which is disturbing on a psychological level (assuming he & his son really did swap minds, it's kinda disturbing that his son would just walk away as he was bullied & beaten by a pack of kids) no matter how you spin it. The only way it would really make sense is if the bullying is all in Charles head & it really wasn't taking place with the exception of his past.

All in all I liked it, & with Shatner it's much the same as usual with him in the way that you either like him & his style or you can't get past it. I find him entertaining so I'm always willing to give his work my time, at least in his younger (1950s - mid 1980s) days.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Gotcha! (1988) Season 2, Episode 4

Hard to get a feel on

[4/10 · 20 August 2013]

This episode's saving grace is the acting & the Laurel & Hardy nostalgia. Beyond that you're left unsure if you're supposed to laugh at the conclusion or if the main character is simply so rattled by what his girlfriend has put him through that he plays along with her to not risk any more torture before he can escape from her. It's also difficult to determine if he was having a fear based hallucination & she has no idea what happened to him, or if she conjured up some strange magic to "play" with him & just didn't expect him to be so horrified from it. I understand that anthology shows are supposed to mix humor, camp & genuine horror but like I said this particular episode seems to mix them up too much in the same story & it leaves you unsure of what to make of it.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Man Upstairs (1988) Season 2, Episode 5

Challenges suspension of disbelief in more ways than one

[3/10 · 20 August 2013]

This was a really strange story that requires the viewer to have unshakable faith in the central protagonist, a young boy. While the sinister character Mr. Koberman is undeniably suspicious & frightening, the boy may be the real creep in this tale. This "vampire" (as they never say for certain that Mr. Koberman IS a vampire, rather just a vague confirmation of his monster status)story goes pretty predictably, a strange but seemingly harmless Hungarian man arrives at the inn & sets off progressively more suspicious alarms to the boy. When a female student goes out one night & never returns at the same time when Koberman also went out, the boy sneaks into his room & discovers pictures of what are alluded to be his female victims & pictures of himself from older times where he appears to be the same age as the current time. HERE is where the story takes a strange turn that I'm not sure as a viewer we were intended to be disturbed. The boy plays on Koberman's aversion to silver & apparently somehow feeds him silver coins. We didn't know this prior to seeing the boy stab the man in his "sleep" with a knife & come downstairs to show his grandmother one of the organs he surgically removed from his body.

Maybe the strangest part of the story, at least to me, was that the police just take the boy 100% at his word when he says that Koberman was still alive even after he began to remove his organs (we DO see the organ still pulsating when he shows his grandmother, to be fair), still though I have a hard time believing that police would show up to a corpse that a boy removed organs from because he was "a vampire" & have complete & immediate faith in that being the truth. I'd recommend not letting children watch this episode in case they ever met someone of Eastern descent, wouldn't want them murdering an innocent person in their sleep because they saw a boy do it on TV & with no consequences.

V/H/S/2 (2013)

Bigger budget doesn't always equate to better quality

[4/10 · 12 June 2013]

I read a few articles about this sequel that indicated the respective directors felt rushed in getting the movie made, which does show a little. It seemed instead of thinking thru plots & trying to create stories that keep viewers up all night thinking about them, they focused on trying to create creepy imagery (in fashion of the plague of remakes of Japanese movies centered around ghoul-like children suddenly appearing where they weren't before) & loads of gore. The charm of the first one seems lacking & even the wrap-a-around story just feels like they couldn't decide what should happen but felt like SOMETHING needed to happen. The stuff about "watching the tapes in a specific sequence does something to you" was cliché horror sequel, half-brained re-inventing "the rules" stuff. So how does everyone know what sequence to watch a bunch of randomly scattered VHS tapes in? Honestly the original's "plot" regarding the tapes actually makes sense in retrospect as it seemed implied it was just something about these traded real-life horror tapes alone.

The stories themselves just didn't have the same punch either. The best was probably the zombie bike rider one as it actually told a fully developed story in the time allotted. The cult short could've been the sequel's saving grace, but completely unraveled at the end & in a way so disappointing & silly that it becomes impossible to take seriously.

Tales from the Darkside: The New Man (1984) Season 1, Episode 1

It isn't spelled out, but the story is there

[7/10 · 3 July 2012]

While I agree this isn't one of the better episodes (although with how many of them tried too hard to be silly perhaps it IS) I think people are looking way too hard for an obvious explanation. A big word to keep in mind while watching this episode is "denial". Also pay attention to how the wife references how many jobs her husband has had, how many cities they've moved from all related to his drinking. Meaning this is not the 1st time he's been "sober, I swear!". As to what is going on or "what" Jerry is, I guess it depends.

On one hand, perhaps as another commenter said, it is because Alan was drunk the whole episode & Jerry was a manifestation of his drinking & he's so out of it he thinks his wife & older son are playing games with him when in fact there is no Jerry & maybe the real conversations that took place were far different than what we see through Alan's perspective. Alcoholics tend to remember things differently. Take note of when his boss is getting on his case about how 2 days have gone by without Alan calling back a client where as Alan seemed unaware that much time had gone by. I think that's important because Jerry had only shown up 1 day prior & was unrelated to that particular aspect of the story, seems to indicate that Alan was already off the wagon before his boss ever approached him with the drink offer.

The theory I subscribe to however (although I still agree with the smaller points from the 1st theory) is that this town & specifically that real estate office is some sort of "final stage" for the hopeless alcoholic. It's where the "I'm gonna change!" alcoholics that never actually intend to take care of their problem end up. The fact that the boss offers both Alan, & his also a "recovering" alcoholic replacement drinks seems to make that clear, also that Jerry shows up to "oh & who might you be?" introduction again. Alan ends up there so that he can meet his end & his family can break free of him. As for what I hold over from the first theory, I'm thinking the family was never aware of Jerry at all & the dialogue & scenes we see are just Alan's perspective as a drunk in denial. Maybe even the house was ALWAYS empty & his family had already left him prior to arriving in the new town (why would Alan's wife call his boss's office phone?) & everything is just the disturbing world & imagination of a drunk about to meet his end.

This is certainly a story probably best suited for Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock who maybe would have made it a point to clear up the confusion of "What did I just see happen?", but I think they decided to leave it more up to the viewer's interpretation. Like I said, with so many over-the-top silly episodes for this series, this may not be one of the best but it certainly isn't one of the worst.

WrestleMania VI (1990 TV Special)

wwE manage to edit history

[4/10 · 17 February 2006]

I was at Wrestlemania VI in Toronto as a 10 year old, and the event I saw then was pretty different from what I saw on the Wrestlemania Collection DVD I just watched. I don't understand how the wwE doesn't have the rights to some of the old music, since most of those songs were created by the WWF they shouldn't have to worry about the licensing and royalty fees that prevent shows like SNL from releasing season sets. Its pretty stupid to whine about, but for me hearing Demolition come out to their theme music at a Wrestlemania in person was a memory that I never forgot, and it didn't exist on this DVD. What is the point of them even owning the rights to this huge library of video if they have to edit it so drastically to use it?

Followers (2000)

hahahahaha

[1/10 · 31 July 2005]

watch it to see the kid get punched out of a window and falling to his death alone...one of the all time classic movie deaths...not even Segal or Van Dam could top this...because it's pretty impossible. I also like how the police weren't even slightly curious as to why the kid they put in prison for the murder was the only one that came out to mourn the death...wouldn't jake have had a bruise or mark on his knuckle from the most devastating punch in the history of violence? If you love bad films, especially low budget indy stuff, this is worth wasting time on...although I would not rent it or anything, I hope that isn't even possible.

Boy Meets World (1993– )

A show that ran too long

[12 January 2005]

I thought this was a very funny show for the first 3 or 4 years that it was on ABC. Good characters and they seemed developed enough. Then right around the time that the main characters got to high school the show didn't just jump the shark, it jumped the whole ocean. Suddenly the sometimes foolish Eric became some sort of mentally retarded live action cartoon character. Cory & Topanga were this couple that had been together forever, even though they had only been dating for a couple of years in actuality. Shawn became this overly deep, complex character and somehow their old elementary school teacher managed to follow them throughout their academic careers right up to college as a professor. The story lines got incredibly too silly and the show seemed to try to get in on the joke of how dumb the show had gotten by continually making fun of itself. Then once they decided to marry Cory & Topanga it was too far beyond saving. All in all though the first couple of seasons were very good.

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

Is this supposed to turn people off from having kids?

[3/10 · 10 January 2005]

While funny at times this movie is nothing but one sad story about how a bunch of one man's kids make his life hectic and crush his dream. The movie might have been better had the end seemed more like something he didn't feel right doing as opposed to a choice made because his kids were never going to let up. Ashton Kutcher surprisingly funny playing a self absorbed idiot, of course that was because he wasn't really acting all that much. This movie really makes you not like the kids, except for the eldest 3 who don't behave like undisciplined monsters. Shame because between Steve Martin & Bonnie Hunt this should have been a much funnier movie. The two really didn't even have a chance to display the chemistry as they are away for each other for a large bulk of the movie. If you have a large family like this I genuinely feel sorry for you or your parents.