200 Items Or Less: The Shrine (2010)

A few thoughts: A gooey, bloody, demony cult movie with a few surprises up its sleeve, there's nothing particularly mindblowing about this little horror thriller, but it's still a solid bit of indie entertainment. While the low budget can definitely be felt in certain crucial scenes (weird green screen and set design limitations), where the production really impresses is in how well it handles the practical effects. The makeup and gore are pretty great here, with some cool flashes of impressive prosthetics that never feel shoved in your face to impress you -- being a film directed by the same guy who did 'Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer' I would've expected nothing less. The acting is pretty ho-hum, and the setup is more than familiar, but as previously mentioned, the plot has a few twists that keep it from playing out exactly as you might expect from a low budget horror movie like this. I enjoy the ending, and how the movie doesn't feel the need to throw bonus jump-scares at you just because it wants to be super spooky. Solid movie.

200 Items Or Less: Death Race (2008)

A few thoughts: This movie is a weird combination of being both way too much and also very little. The original Death Race was a very clever and wonderfully over-the-top satire and commentary on society's glorification of violence, with the exaggerated action being used as a tool to drive this point home, whereas this movie takes away all commentary and goes straight into "isn't this action so cool? Look at the explosions!" territory. There's no humor, no layers, and about 3000 explosions to fill these gaps. There are no moral complexities, with the hero being a good guy and the bad guys being bad. The overall production might be good, but the constant zooms and EDITING EDITING EDITING make it hard to notice whether or not the movie would/could even look decent. The action is relentless, and while I do enjoy this in some movies, I feel it was handled here with too little humor, creativity, and self-awareness to make it really work. It's not a totally horrible movie, but it's kind of a waste of time and far too busy for all the more it has to say.

200 Items Or Less - Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

A few thoughts: Following up on one of the best dystopian action movies ever made can't be an easy thing to do. Bit that doesn't excuse this disaster. Sure, it's quotable, and sure, it has a few good scenes, but 75% of this movie is spent wasting time around a bunch of stupid kids with idiotic hair hanging out in lost boys land. Does this develop the world? Not as much as you'd hope, considering how long the movie drags us through this irritating boredom. I enjoy most of the sets and scenery, several characters have stuck with me my whole life (Master-Blaster, mainly), but the amount of time spent on the aspects that actually work is staggeringly low. Not to mention the fact that this is the third entry in a series of R-rated movies, only this time it's been neutered and given a PG-13 rating. Incredibly stupid, and devoid of the grittiness of the first two, nothing about this movie is able to completely work for me. There are 4 Mad Max movies now, and this is the only one that I don't think is really good. Instead, I think it's pretty weak.

200 Items Or Less: The Road Warrior (1981)

A few thoughts: One of the coolest action movies of the '80s, but still impaired by some of those gloriously awful Mad Max cliches, like the stupid monkey kid with the dumb hair. Does this take away from the movie? Not much, but yes, actually. Time wasted on idiotic supporting characters like this slows the pace of the film and distracts from the main story, which is simple but effective. If you enjoy dystopian action films, odds are you've either seen this already or seen it mimicked dozens of times, as this first sequel to Mad Max is the most popular in the original series, and helped pave the way for countless dystopians to follow. Stripped down and focused on a tight story, this movie has one of the greatest chase sequences ever put to film, even if the more recent Fury Road does one-up it in pretty much every way. For a relatively low budget Aussie film with very little story, this sure did influence the genre a lot. Maybe it's not the best action movie of its time, but it's a great piece of '80s pop culture that still holds up really well.

200 Items Or Less: Mad Max (1979)

A few thoughts: The film that made Mel Gibson a star and spawned several of the most well-loved and acclaimed dystopian action sequels of all-time. While the praise gets heaped onto this movie from pretty much every direction, I'm slightly more tempered in my reaction, as I appreciate it for what it accomplished, but still can't see myself considering it among the greatest sci-fi/dystopian movies ever made. I like how this movie shows a civilization on the verge of collapse setting the tone for the wild sequels, in that limbo where some of the greats belong (RoboCop and A Clockwork Orange, for example). Probably the last great car/chase movie of the 1970s, this isn't like 'Vanishing Point', relying entirely on the stunts for the movie to work, but instead features chases and action sequences sporadically and with purpose. I was surprised at how the movie approached the revenge aspect of the story, never falling to the lows of exploitation. This is an impressive and effective movie that balances a lot of genres and ideas well.