TV Alley: Angel

Angel

Created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt
1999 - 2004

Following Angel's departure from Buffy The Vampire Slayer at the end of season 3, this show focuses on Angel (and a few sidekicks) as they open a detective agency to rid the streets of L.A. of supernatural menaces.

200 Items Or Less: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

A few thoughts: Often credited as the first horror movie ever produced by Hammer, this science fiction film wastes absolutely no time, starting off with a rocket ship crashing to Earth within the first 2 minutes. Shot in black and white and taking place in a modern setting, nothing about this movie really screams "Hammer", but it still holds a place of importance within the studio and makes for a pretty entertaining film to boot. Sadly, in spite of how fast the movie comes to the point, it takes its sweet time to do anything with it. It's a weird sort of pacing issue, making me think it might have been better off developing characters a little while longer before jumping into the main thrust of the plot. Still, at only 75~ minutes, even the slow parts don't drag on too long. While it isn't a straight up alien invasion movie, it does an excellent job at establishing the threat of this strange mutation that could very well wipe out life on earth. Not a masterpiece or anything, but a movie I still enjoy that helped move Hammer in the right direction.

200 Items Or Less: The Cremator (1969)

A few thoughts: A "horror" movie more in the literal sense than is traditional for the genre, this Czech film about a cremator finds humor in the darkest of places, while still remaining unsettling and difficult to look away from. With a fantastic lead performance, Rudolf Hrusinsky adds quirks and subtle details to his role (brushing his well-groomed hair with the same comb he uses on dead bodies), slowly revealing more and more layers to his madness as the story progresses -- was he always this psychotic and delusional, or just impressionable enough to allow Nazi ideology into his twisted mind? This isn't an easy film and doesn't offer easy answers. With that signature Czech new wave editing and cinematography, this is a very interesting film to look at, from its tight close-ups to the split-second shots that flicker past before you even know it. It might be unpleasant to watch in many respects but visually it's still very striking. Thanks to some great pacing, visuals, and an excellent main character/performance, this movie succeeds in all sorts of ways.

200 Items Or Less: Night Of The Big Heat (1967)

A few thoughts: A movie I find hard to classify as anything but a disappointing waste of talent. A missed opportunity on virtually all fronts, this whole story feels like little more than an extended Twilight Zone episode without any sort of twist or satisfying resolution. With two of my favorite actors (Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee), neither of which receiving enough screentime, and directed by one of my favorite directors (Terence Fisher), it felt like it should have been so much more than it was. With only one subplot that actually had me even remotely engaged - involving one of the main characters and his secretary with whom he once had an affair - there wasn't much drama to be found elsewhere. The sound design gave me blistering headaches, as it implemented long stretches of high-pitched squealing, and while it made sense for them to do this, plot-wise, it still made for some pretty unpleasant chunks of time. The aliens were basically sight-unseen, the acting was solid, and the concept had potential. It just didn't come to fruition.

Top 10 Ed Harris performances

4-time Oscar nominee and 0-time winner, Ed Harris is the kind of actor who's often forced into supporting roles in spite of having all the talent required to earn him the lead in far more projects and he's ever been given. In often angry and intense roles, Harris can steal the show with little screen time, or perhaps more importantly serve the movie or show he's in by taking a back seat in crucial and reserved roles.

200 Items Or Less: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

A few thoughts: A much needed change of pace for a series that had been slowly going downhill, this movie takes Dracula and Van Helsing out of the 1800s and puts them in a modern setting. The first movie in the series to feature both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing since Horror Of Dracula from 1958, this definitely brought Hammer Dracula back to life in a lot of ways. Not only is the setting updated, the music fuses funk and disco with the classic gothic horror style, creating an entirely new tone for the film with its soundtrack. Visually, the movie takes a similar approach, giving the modern setting an injection of classic flair -- fog, stone walls, etc. It's really quite unique. Seeing Cushing and Lee face off again after so many years (this is the 7th movie in the series, and only the second time they're featured together) is more than exciting, and their brief interactions are some of the best in the series. This is one of the most unconventional horror films Hammer ever produced, and it's kind of amazing for it.

TV Alley: Millennium

Millennium

Created by Chris Carter
1996 - 1999

A spin-off of Chris Carter's far more popular series The X-Files, Millennium follows ex-FBI agent Frank Black as he uses his psychic visions to hunt down killers and psychopaths. He's also being vetted and recruited by a bizarre and mysterious cult-like organization known as the Millennium group, who have seemingly unlimited resources, a gray moral compass, and a belief in an apocalypse that will occur at the end of the 20th century.

200 Items Or Less: Scars Of Dracula (1970)

A few thoughts: The first Hammer Dracula film I didn't like, this sixth entry lacks the menace, atmosphere, and pacing of the first several in the series. I felt like I was watching this movie for hours, yet it's only 90 minutes long. While there are a few cool shots and moments, a majority of this movie feels like treading water. Not only this, but Christopher Lee is given a lot of dialogue this time around but still very little to actually say. The lead performance by what's-his-face is an absolutely unconvincing bore, and while Michael Ripper and Michael Gwynn are both pretty great, they are given far too little screentime to save the picture. One more thing that stood out to me as particularly lousy was all the effects used in this movie -- for example, in several shots there are bats flying around that look less convincing than the ones used in the original Dracula from 1931. While each previous film had slowly gotten worse throughout the series, this was the first time I would actually call one of these movies pretty bad. Such a shame.

Top 10 Nathan Fillion performances

I don't plan on only making these top 10 lists of massive cult actors, but this seems to be the direction I've been heading in, so I might as well commit. This time, I'm covering another charming actor who hasn't had quite the successful career he deserves, but has enough of a following to keep him from ever fading into total obscurity.

Top 10 Bruce Campbell performances

B-movie legend and King of the Chin Bruce Campbell turned 60 last month, and because of how incredibly lazy I am, I've just now decided to make this countdown list. Also, I wanted to catch up on a few of his movies and shows that I've missed, and since I don't have to fit anything inside any sort of timetable, here we are.

200 Items Or Less: Excalibur (1981)

A few thoughts: An exhaustingly long adaptation (in spite of only being 140 minutes long) of the story of Arthur, Merlin, the sword in the stone, and the quest for the Holy Grail, this movie has flashes of brilliance but never manages to overcome several of its more major flaws. As I briefly touched on before, this movie drags on for far longer than it seems like it should. Without much focus or direction, the story wanders along until it's basically said everything it wants to say. It's not incredibly long, but feels like it is, which is far worse. The acting, apart from a few performances here and there, is pretty awful. Very few of the performers feel like they're even trying, stiffly delivering lines as if they're being read straight from the script without inflection. And finally, King Arthur is so unlikable, I never once found myself interested in seeing him succeed, in spite of being the protagonist of the film. It's hard to care about a story like this when you don't have anyone to root for. It looks great, but has too many fundamental flaws to live up to its potential.

200 Items Or Less: Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970)

A few thoughts: The fifth entry in the Hammer Dracula series (which begins just moments after the previous film), this is where the series started to lose some of its general appeal. I'm not entirely sure why, though, since with the addition of Ralph Bates to the main cast, there is more than just one great performance to anchor the film. Bates is a total madman in this movie, and I kinda love it. I enjoy the cinematography, which is both conventional and occasionally experimental. As is always the case in these films, Christopher Lee makes for a daunting Dracula, whose dialogue is again kept to a minimum. In an odd plot turn (it's full of those), the movie turns into a sort of "you're next" revenge story with Dracula orchestrating killings. It's weird because this is very unlike Dracula, whose primary goals have always been more centered on staying alive, feeding, seducing women, etc. but it works alright within the film, even if the motivation is a bit forced and awkward. This is the weakest of the first 5 Hammer Dracula films, but I still enjoyed it.

200 Items Or Less: Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

A few thoughts: A fairly muddled and generic sci/fi action thriller about people who wipe parts of their memories to be used as mules to transfer information through their brains. And the main person in the movie whose brain has been emptied in order to transfer this information is Keanu Reeves, which makes a lot of sense considering how bad his acting is here -- perhaps he deleted the part of his memory that knew how to do that. I'm not sure how much of this movie is meant to be funny, but it kind of works as an unintentional comedy at times thanks to this acting. The real highlights, though, are Dolph Lundgren and Udo Kier. Dolph plays a deeply religious assassin, and Udo as a piece of slime trying to get his hands on precious, valuable information. It's just a shame so much emphasis is placed on Keanu, who just doesn't seem to know how to make this material work. I like the guy, but he is an abominably bad actor. It's an average script and the action is fairly well-handled, but it doesn't do anything great. Just passable at best. Slightly worse than that, though.

TV Alley: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Created by Joss Whedon
1997 - 2003

A high schooler with the destiny to be the once-in-a-generation girl who kicks and stabs vampires to death is forced to sideline her personal life in order to live up to this prophecy. Along the way she makes friends of all varieties as she faces off against evil and still tries to live a normal life.

200 Items Or Less: Fortress (1992)

A few thoughts: A Stuart Gordon-directed sci/fi dystopian prison break drama with a bizarre lead performance by Christopher Lambert (who seems to be doing a Werner Herzog impression) and a whole ton of cliches. In spite of its failures, however, a few key supporting performances make this movie worth watching and actually pretty entertaining. Kurtwood Smith plays the main antagonist, a villain who actually has some depth to him. Maybe the writing isn't amazing, but he elevates the material and makes him feel more fleshed out than I expected. The other best performance is by Jeffrey Combs, because of course he's great in it. This is the perfect kind of quirky role for him, but has a wirey hippie sensibility that you rarely see in his performances. Storywise, there's nothing particularly amazing about this movie, and all the necessary steps are taken to make it a pretty standard and effective screenplay. Prison break movies are generally pretty easy to predict, and this is no different. It tells its story, it's pretty fun, and gives two great actors plenty of material.