Robot Jox (1989) Review:

People have always painted the future as either bleak or bright. No matter what though, the thought of the future having robots involved has always been a thing. Whether they’re being used as tools by man to help them do things or just coexisting, robots will continue to remain as a staple of the future. However, the idea of using robots to fight in the place of humans is an even smarter idea seeing that war has plagued mankind for centuries. If the fight could be isolated to just a single match that would depend on the success or failure of another party, then the war would be avoided altogether. This is at least the idea that was brought to life by Stuart Gordon for this feature and it does have some replay value.

Mecha suits before they were a big deal

The story by Gordon and script written by Joe Haldeman is about a group of individuals called Robot Jox in an apocalyptic future. Where superpowers win wars by having people fight in giant robot suits. Whoever wins, wins for the place they represent. The premise itself sounds very entertaining and is an interesting way of settling major combat. Fighting for the Americans is Achilles (Gary Graham), while Russia is fought by his sworn enemy Alexander (Paul Koslo). As Achilles enters the end of his contract with his 10th match coming up, he plans to make it his last. All the while, it seems that important information is leaking out about secret weapons being used in the robot suits. Supporting Achilles is his boss Tex Conway (Michael Alldredge) and weapons developer Dr. Matsumoto (Danny Kamekona).

Gordon's premise for the film is an intriguing and creative one. Feeling like a test film for Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013), the setup is almost the same. There are also feels to be inspiration from Japanese mecha suit animes. To see it performed in live-action though is a completely different spectacle. This is a separate topic of discussion though. While the setup looks good, the main cast isn't as magnetic and the story execution is unfocused. Achilles also meets Professor Laplace (Hilary Mason) who is developing genetically modified people known as tubies. The one standing out among them is Athena (Anne-Marie Johnson), where Achilles and her form some kind of connection. But this is where it ends, because it never goes further than that.

This unfortunately leaves a couple of subplots left unresolved and the leads lacking character development. Gary Graham as Achilles is okay at what he does. But as a romantic lead, not so much, especially when his co-star looks much younger. Not sure what Haldeman was thinking for the script on this but he didn't go to write for any other movies after this. Paul Koslo does make Alexander a fun villain to watch. The visual aspect entertains too. When Achilles and Alexander are in their robot suits fighting, the stop motion animation is really enjoyable. Being that it's an older special effect, it really gives the action sequences much more energy and character. Seeing the giant pieces of machinery use all kinds of tricks and mechanical weapons looks great.

"Never thought I'd have such a ridiculous career....."

These components also go hand in hand with Mac Ahlberg's cinematography. With other pictures under his belt like Re-Animator (1985), House II: The Second Story (1987) and Deep Star Six (1989), Ahlberg did a fine job here too. The mixing between models and actual large scale sets is practically seamless. Then there's the musical score provided by Frédéric Talgorn. While Talgorn is not as well known in the mainstream realm, his music is just as exciting as if he were. Not only does he create a main theme for the feature, but it's all organic. This is rare considering many composers resorted to synthesizers during the 1980s. It's very well composed and it helps all the more bringing in some kind of emotion into the story.

The premise to this feature is fun, but the characters aren't fully fledged out. Graham and his co-stars try, at times though they seem confused. Several supporting elements to this film work really well though. The premise sounds fun, the special effects are worked in competently and the music is a nice surprise.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Hellraiser VI: Hellseeker (2002) Review:

After the final theatrical installment of Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) series with the release of Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996), everything went to home video release. While this usually means a decrease in quality, Hellraiser V: Inferno (2000) wasn't as bad as it could have been. For a home video release, it actually had a slight advantage over the film before it and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), because of how plot was executed and the direction headed by Scott Derrickson. Even for a script that wasn't initially going to be related to the series, the way it was used wasn't perfect, but it did use them differently as opposed to being totally wasted. It's unfortunate though, because this film had larger potential and missed the opportunity.

Kirsty & Trevor

Just like Hellraiser V: Inferno (2000), the script was originally going to be just a crime thriller. However, it was decided to jam in Barker's Hellraiser characters again. Except this time, the insertion of them into the story was not done well. Trevor (Dean Winters) and Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), from the first three films, are a couple who get into an accident. As Trevor wakes up in the hospital, he discovers Kirsty is missing. Determined to find out what happened to her, he begins talking with Detective Lange (William S. Taylor). All the while, Trevor continues to suffer from weird hallucinations and headaches. The screenplay was written this time by Carl V. Dupré (Detroit Rock City (1999)) and Tim Day in his writing credit debut. Even with that said, it's surprising what these two initially tried to do.

The fact that both Dupré and Day both tried to tie back this video sequel to the original film is commendable. They actually tried to explain a little more to Kirsty's background after the events of the first movie. And with Kirsty missing, the mystery of the plot is intriguing at first. Rick Bota, the director to this feature also tries but this is where the effort ends. While the premise is fine, the use of its title characters is widely undercut. Doug Bradley as Pinhead, our favorite lead cenobite and Ashley Laurence are barely around for the feature. The horror aspect to the film is there but it involves very little of the cenobites. There's blood, gore and other usual gruesome things but it all can be dreamed up. Nothing unique about it.

Making things worse is that the lead, Dean Winters. Mr. Mayhem himself from Allstate's Insurance commercials is very bland. Nothing he says stands out or has one change in vocal pitch. He just walks around confused, thus leading to the audience being confused. For once, he's in the midst of the mayhem instead of actually causing it. The character who is the most interesting though, is William S. Taylor because he's the one who outputs the most energy into his character. Taylor was also in The Fly II (1989) so he does have some horror film experience. Special effects weren't awful for home video release. There'll always be some areas that don't look as good, but mostly it holds up. Thankfully otherwise that would be even worse.

"Mmmmm,....acupuncture...."

The rest of the visuals aren't that good though. The editing by Anthony Adler and Lisa Mozden wasn't enjoyable. There were way too many cuts in the same scenes. Some of which were the same shot right after another. There's no point to that. The camerawork by John Drake isn't much more notable either. There's not a large variety of locations and much of them are rather forgettable. Apartments, bus interiors, and police departments are really the only places featured. Thankfully music was a small saving grace thanks to composer Stephen Edwards. By no means is his work a match to prior scores, but he does try and there are a couple themes heard that go with Pinhead and Trevor's. Edwards also composed the score to Bloodsport II (1996).

As a semi followup to the original film years later, it's apparent someone had the right idea. Unfortunately, that's it. The music and the premise are okay, but the with main stars barely around, the lead being highly dull and the camerawork being rather uninspired, this direct-to-DVD sequel is the least entertaining thus far.

Points Earned --> 4:10

Twisted Pair (2018) Review:

Neil Breen has come a long way since his debut back in the mid-2000s. While his features Double Down (2005), I Am Here...Now (2009) got him on the road, it was Fateful Findings (2013) that got people talking about him. Since then, his reputation has inflated to bigger proportions. His next film Pass Thru (2016) was an even bigger success, which has led us to this. Twisted Pair (2018) is by far Mr. Breen's most ambitious project to date. It's apparent that Breen truly has a passion for what he does, but his ambition can only go so far. Every single one of his features have all had similar topics of discussion and this one is almost no different from before. The only real change displayed is the visual style, but that's it.

Neil Breen's new visual effects

The plot to this film of Breen's is about as nonsensical as the rest that came before it. Neil Breen plays a set of twins Cade and Cale Altair. Both were given extraordinary powers at a young age. One was able to excel with their power, while the other became corrupt with it. One does his best to help others, while other acts as a vigilante to "help" others his own way. The rest is very much the same kind of subplots, There's drama between the twins and their respective significant others, there's deception among the public with wealthy figures and super human feats shown. These are all the usual tropes Breen has resorted to for all his other features and it's beginning to get old. What made Fateful Findings (2013) entertaining was that it felt like the point of which Breen perfected his talent of bad film making.

Here though, it feels like he went into hyper mode and amplified it to where the spectacle is just boring. With similar things happening in every film he makes, the charm is beginning to wear thin. The bland acting by the cast is no longer amusing. About half the dialog is Neil Breen doing voice over narration and even some dubbing over certain scenes he very well could have just recorded initially. The rest of the cast is even more forgettable. Sara Meritt who plays Alana, the good brother's wife is no different from past love interests. And Denise Bellini who plays the agency director in charge of the good brother for his missions is dull. There's even a muse (Ada Masters) who flies around spreading magic dust. For what reason, it's never given.

Padding is still as atrocious as usual. There's loads of scenes that drag on with pauses longer than needed. Breen's script repeats several lines throughout his film. In consecutive order no less, so that gets annoying. There's scenes with people doing the exact same action they were doing earlier or later in the story. Responses don't feel connected or timed properly with the events going on around them. It just feels extra lazy with all the rip-offs Breen pulls from his other films. The story also has trouble trying to put together what antagonist to focus on. The evil twin or the actual character who's evil enough to have his voice distorted almost to the point where their lines are inaudible. The visuals are really the only strong point to this feature.

"Look how convincing my facial hair is?.......not"

Of all of Breen's features, this has the most action in it. And while the action itself is also very lame, it's the first time he has actual explosions going off. John Mastrogiacomo is finally serving as Breen's cinematographer and for the most part, it is shot decently. Being that this is Breen's first film with no day scenes, it is certainly a different setting. There are no desert scenes and nothing involving computers surprisingly. This is also Breen's first time using green screen effects, which in some cases look better than expected for his regular standard of filming. Music though was still disappointing with much of the cues being cycled over and over with hard bass blasts that make scenes more intense for no reason. He's obviously trying but his focus is all off.

It may be Neil Breen's biggest film production, but the interior quality of it is possibly more lackluster than his prior efforts. There's less unintentional comedy and more boring things. The only aspect that stands out are the visuals because it's never been done in any of his other films.

Points Earned --> 3:10

Frida (2002) Review:

It truly is an odd sight to get to understand the history of someone's life of someone so famous. It is the public perception that all famous individuals live a life of luxury and no concerns. It is far from truth because many artists have similar issues and sometimes in larger volumes. Frida, a Mexican artist who is known for her work is celebrated by many and yet her back story of how she became what she's known for is so saddening. Being an artist is not always an easy thing like it is portrayed to be. But the crew involved with making the biopic of this Latin American woman really put in the time to make this film as good as it is. It still has an issue but not compared to the rest of its strengths.

Molina & Hayek

Basically covering Frida's view of life before and after her turning point accident, the script has lots of great details to cover. It's surprising too when looking at who helped write the script. Clancy Sigal and Diane Lake are two of the four involved who had no history before or after working on major films. This usually hits a red flag. However, the other two, Anna Thomas and Gregory Nava had worked on projects and the fact they were able to all put it together deserves applause. Julie Taymor serves as director to this feature, which is also rare recalling how many female directors were around. A few years before Taymor also directed Titus (1999), which received strong reviews too.

The cast of actors hired to play their parts do a great job at diving into their roles. Salma Hayek as Frida very much captures the essence of the artist in multiple ways. From the visual look, actions and dialog. Viewers will really sympathize with her role seeing the kind of roller coaster her life becomes. Playing her right hand man (literally) is Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera, Frida's real life on and off lover. Not only does Molina show what kind of person Diego Rivera was, but viewers may also sympathize with him too as wildly unpredictable he ends up being. Both Molina and Hayek have great chemistry together and display it well on scene. There's one part to them that doesn't get much clarity though.

Character motives seem a little out of place at times. This occurs mostly for the two leads, but it also happens with some other supporting characters. Not much detail is given so it doesn't make a lot of sense as to why a certain character will make a decision on something. It's almost like it was impulse only. However, the supporting actors are great to watch too. Frida's father Guillermo (Roger Rees) plays a likable parent for his open mindedness. Valeria Golino plays an ex-wife of Diego Rivera and even talks to Frida about various topics. Golino was also in Rain Man (1988) and Escape from L.A. (1996). There's also appearances by Edward Norton, Ashley Judd, Mía Maestro and Geoffrey Rush.

Frida's actual painting

The visual look of the film is also well done. Shot by Rodrigo Prieto, a native to Mexico, handles the cinematography. The film contains much of what Mexico looks like including some very old architecture. There's even a stop motion animated scene that reminisces to that of something Tim Burton or Tom Sellick would like. The music is also another well accomplished component. Featuring a mixture of Latin singers and a score by Elliot Goldenthal, the soundtrack to this picture is elegantly structured in a way that really flows well. Goldenthal's transition cues blend nicely with the scenes until the Latin singers take over. All in all very well represented.

Watching this film will show fans of the artist the kinds of issues Frida had to deal with on a frequent basis. With the right actors, music, writing and visuals, viewers will come out knowing what kind of tough cookie she was.

Points Earned --> 8:10