200 Items Or Less: Death And Cremation (2010)

A few thoughts: It became evident right away during this movie that it wouldn't be the quality of its production nor performances by (most of) the main cast that would make it worth watching. No, it's fairly clear that there is one reason alone that this movie exists or is it at all enjoyable: Brad Dourif. One of my favorite quirky nutcase character actors, and while this is not exactly career-defining material, he proves once again that regardless of the role or quality of the movie or show he appears in, he always brings his A-game. Now that that's out of the way, I feel the plot and production needs to be addressed. This is a very standard revenge horror story blended with an awkward teen outsider drama, meeting right in the middle. It's simple, but it works. The sound design is uneven and horrible, and visually it's very obviously cheap. This isn't an impressive movie, regardless of the budget. With substandard acting and an especially awful performance by the police officer who shall remain nameless, this is a pretty cheap production in virtually every way.

TV Alley: The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.

The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.

Created by Carlson Cuse & Jeffrey Boam
1993 - 1994

A wild west adventure show with a little sci-fi twist, Brisco County, Jr. follows Bruce Campbell as the titular lawyer-turned-bounty hunter as he hunts down the vicious gang who killed his father. Although it only ran the one season, the show has built up a decent cult following over the decades thanks to its wonderful sense of humor and creative action.

200 Items Or Less: Cronos (1993)

A few thoughts: Guillermo Del Toro's directorial debut, and while it may not be as polished as some of his later films, still stands as one of the most interesting and effective films of his career. While the screenplay has a few pacing issues and never quite allows itself to get going in the ways you might expect, this vampire movie doesn't tell a typical story and for that I am grateful. The performances are good, the cinematography is good, the set design is good, blah blah blah, it's all a very visually pleasing experience, and the unique take on vampires makes for another cool looking aspect. There are a few shots where the camera begins to bob before cutting to the next scene, which was definitely odd, but never so distracting that it took away from the experience. There isn't a whole ton more for me to say about this, other than that I didn't find many things wrong with it, but didn't ultimately love it as much as I hoped I would this time around. But it's still really cool.

200 Items Or Less: Hands Of The Ripper (1971)

A few thoughts: One of Hammer's more surprisingly underappreciated films of the 1970s, this story about the twisted spawn of Jack the Ripper is both beautiful to look at and horrifically violent at the same time. Even more than is normal of the gothic horrors of this studio, the set design and costuming in this film is terrific, and it all looks especially wonderful thanks to the lighting and cinematography which features excellent use of sweeping shots and heavy shadow. The blood is, of course, bright red and plentiful -- it may be overly dramatic and theatrical, but such is the style of these films. The moral ambiguity of the characters create an odd and upsetting atmosphere, making it both difficult to predict and hard to decide who is the actual protagonist within the story. Since this isn't a sequel, the story never feels like a rehash of anything in spite of its "daughter of something evil" set up. It's a familiar kind of story, but not one I can recall ever seeing before in this incarnation. It may not be the most revolutionary film ever produced by Hammer, but does stand as one of the best they made during the tail end of their heyday.

200 Items Or Less: Rambo III (1988)

A few thoughts: There's a secret to watching movies like this that most serious film critics don't seem to understand or have any interest in discovering: you have to be willing to shrug and not care. It's so simple, this is not the kind of movie that's designed to be taken seriously, so judging it on the same scale as something like Citizen Kane or Sunset Boulevard is not only missing the point entirely, but a huge disservice to all movies involved. This is a big, dumb action movie with one goal in mind: to entertain audiences with ridiculous escapism. Gone is the emotional power of the first Rambo movie. It couldn't have made that work as well for the sequels anyway. The plot? Doesn't matter. Does it make sense? Shut up. This is a pure action movie with no need to be anything more. Rambo rides on a horse, kills dozens of people, and the bad guys get slaughtered for being bad. You know what you're getting into with this and it succeeds in all the ways it needs to. Guns, guts, and 'splosions. Is it great? Not at all. But it doesn't need to be.