Reviews

Inside No. 9 - S1E2 - A Quiet Night In

Two masked burglars try to rob a luxury house, while the owners are present and in the middle of a marital dispute.

"A Quiet Night In" is an obvious homage to silent comedies from the beginning of the last century, which is confirmed by the choice of Chaplin's granddaughter for the main female role. Essentially realistic situations are over-the-top caricatured and hilarious slapstick gags are lined up one after another without respite, until the (un)expected ending. A very twisted and amusingly morbid episode with a few effective twists, a class above the first episode.

8/10.

At the engagement celebration, the guests and future newlyweds play a kind of hide and seek, where one hides, the others look for him, and whoever finds him joins him in the hiding place. In this way, the episode introduces us to one character at a time, all of whom are somewhat caricatures of different types of people, slowly revealing their mutual relationships. A mildly unpleasant comedy, with a very unpleasant twist at the end. The episode isn't particularly original and feels a bit cheap. It is redeemed only by the silly premise and the ending, which is somewhat stronger than the previous half hour.

6,5/10.

Over two decades before Serbian "A Holy Place", the Russians adapted Gogol's short story "Viy" much more faithfully to the original text, but that does not make this film better by default. From the point of view of production, it is better (it's a bit disappointing to me that a Russian movie from the sixties looks better than a domestic film from the nineties, although I'm not particularly surprised), it has a dark but fairy-tale atmosphere, and, for its time, phenomenal special effects, make-up, and costumes (except for the titular demon who looks really lame). If you like Russian fairy tales from the USSR era, don't miss it, but don't expect horror in the truest sense.

Although the Russian version is visually richer and the story is more detailed than "A Holy Place", it is poorer in terms of erotic elements, characterization, and character background. Also, Branka Pujic and Mira Banjac are way better and far creepier than their Russian counterparts (I'm not saying actresses, because the grandmother is played by a man).

While the Russian film is an excellently filmed two-dimensional fairy tale, Serbian film is low-budget and visually unconvincing, but has a more complex and compelling story. Overall, same rating for both.

7/10.

Almost two decades after the cult "Leptirica", Djordje Kadijevic brings us another, now also a cult horror film, based on the short story "Viy" by Nikolai Gogol. In relation to the source material, "A Holy Place" follows the basic flow of the story, but while, perhaps due to the budget being too low for special effects, it omits the multitude of supernatural beings that the story abounds in, on the other hand, it expands its erotic elements and deepens the characters by inserting, in the original non-existent, flashbacks from their past. As a result, we got an excellent script, which is the strongest asset of this production. Everything else is at a much lower level.

The production gives the impression of a film at least a decade older than it actually is, and could perhaps fit somewhere in the seventies. The general atmosphere and visual experience for most of the film leave the impression of comedy rather than horror. Maybe it should have been. Comedy is something that fits both Serbian mentality and our authors, and if you look back at the best achievements of Serbian cinematography, I think you will agree that most of them are comedies, followed by dramas. Horror is not our forte. This impression is additionally contributed by Dragan Jovanovic in the leading role. Let's face it, he's a great stage actor and comedian, and I love him a lot, but for this movie, he's totally wrong and completely kills any chance of establishing a creepy atmosphere.

The rest of the cast is quite good, the music neither stinks nor smells, I can't decide whether are the motifs directly taken from "Leptirica" plus or minus,... All in all, a solid film worth seeing, but don't let the status of best Serbian horror get your hopes up too much, because it didn't deserve it by being a masterpiece, but by its lackluster competition ("Variola vera", "Serbian film" and "TT Syndrome" prevent me from using the term non-existent).

7,5/10 (this 0.5 just to raise it above "Leptirica")

Beauty and the beast

The film based on Milovan Glisic's short story is considered the first and perhaps the best Serbian horror film. "Leptirica" brings us a rural atmosphere, beautiful nature, a satirical attitude towards folklore and superstitions, and a rather humorous story tone. There is not a trace of creepiness and tension, perhaps because there is no background music or sound effects in the film to help build an eerie atmosphere. The film has nostalgic and folklore value and some nicely designed details (blood mixed with flour, partial portrayal of the vampire), but overall it gives the impression of an amateur comedy attempt, like an exam work of a film student. Until the very end that left me speechless, even though the twist was obvious from the start. From the moment Strahinja jumps over the old woman at the door, until the closing credits, this film is a masterpiece, filled with scenes that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

7/10.

"One hundred years before this story begins, it was a time of darkness in Transylvania. A time when Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and a small band of freedom fighters conspired to rid the world of vampires and monsters, and to save mankind from the forces of eternal evil. They blew it."

A hundred years later, Dracula gathers monsters (Frankenstein's monster, Werewolf, Mummy,... ) in the American suburbs, to make evil prevail on Earth, using a powerful charm. No one believes in monsters, except for a few twelve-year-olds, who join The Monster Squad and start a battle to save mankind.

Interesting premise, monsters made without special effects, just costumes and makeup, references to old horror movies and the undeniable spirit of the eighties, but poor execution. This mash-up of Goonies, Ghostbusters, and Abbott and Costello monster movies is more of a parody and homage to horror comedies than a stand-alone movie, and it's graced by some pretty bad acting and direction. A rather messy and at best mediocre achievement, not even up to the knees of the '80s cult titles with which it is classified.

5/10.

Today I committed an unforgivable blasphemy and on Friday the 13th, instead of a Jason marathon, I rewatched a teenage comedy from 1991. Back then in elementary school, we wore out this VHS until the tape eventually got stuck in the VCR. It's one of those movies we knew by heart as kids, and if we'd seen it for the first time as adults we'd probably have turned it off halfway through. However, three decades later, I really enjoyed it. Strange are the ways of nostalgia.

The mother of five children goes away for the whole summer and leaves them with a babysitter. The babysitter suddenly dies and the kids decide not to report it and somehow manage on their own during the summer, because long live freedom! Of course, life without parents is a crazy time in theory, but in practice, it's an endless series of problems that children can't and shouldn't deal with, an excellent premise for a teenage comedy.

"Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" doesn't show top qualities in any way, nor will you be rolling on the floor laughing, but it's a decent enough option for a casually entertaining afternoon. The script and characters are clichés, but the clichés are sweetly and watchably packed and, if you like eighties and nineties teen comedies, you'll enjoy it. Christina Applegate does well in the lead role, plus she's eye candy, and there is also David Duchovny as the supporting villain. It was especially interesting to me that out of a large number of artists who signed a rather good soundtrack for this film, I have never heard of any of them in my life, except for Army of Lovers.

6/10.

West Side Story on skateboards

Objectively, the screenplay is a total cliché, the characters are a total cliché, the execution is mediocre in every way and the whole thing is just one of countless similar mediocre teenage attractions of the eighties. Subjectively, nostalgia for my own childhood, love for everything from the eighties, several interesting easter egg tributes (The Goonies, The Wild One) and a club performance by the then still new and little-known band Red Hot Chili Peppers in their best phase, before they went mainstream and boring. I know it is not realistic, but from me

7/10.

Some people grow up, and some people just grow older.

In a seemingly idyllic small town in America, we follow the lives of several young people, their coming-of-age friendships, loves, and problems, some everyday and benign, while others are existential and tragic. Through their stories, we see the hypocrisy and darkness of the provincial mentality at the turn of the century (XIX/XX). It is a classic period drama of the golden age of Hollywood, pleasing to the eye, not particularly demanding on the brain, with no prominent flaws and virtues that would inspire me to write something more. Nice movie, worth watching.

7,5/10.

The sequel has all the flaws of the original, which is not surprising since it is practically the same thing, packaged a little differently. When I say different I mean less fun. To me, this seems like a lame attempt to cash in on the old glory, although I don't even understand why the first one was so popular to make it possible. So far, after the first two movies, "Scream" is the weakest horror franchise I've watched. I didn't expect that, considering that "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is by far my favorite, and both are Craven's.

4/10

" It's some dumb white movie about some dumb white girls getting their white asses cut the f up."

From the point of view of objective cinematography quality, this film is mediocre at best. There isn't much to complain about, but it doesn't stand out either. Clichéd ghetto coming-of-age script, amateur cast, mediocre directing... Nevertheless, "Beat Street" became a classic, because it immortalized the early era of hip-hop culture in a way that was receptive to a diverse audience, hip-hop that in addition to rap includes break dancing, DJ skills, as well as the art of street graffiti. Besides, for those of us who grew up in the last quarter of the previous century, the nostalgic value of this film outweighs its objective values. If you look at it as a long '80s music video, it deserves at least

7/10.

• Why are you doing this? - Because you let me.

From the technical side, the film is very well done, but I was not too fond of its essence. At first, it balances between boring and unpleasant, as it goes on it becomes more and more painful to watch, and in the end, it left me with bitterness in my throat and a cramp in my stomach. I had the urge to give up several times and now I regret that I didn't, because this is a soul-damaging movie and a totally unnecessary experience in my life.

I must emphasize that I am a big fan of horror and psychological thrillers. Still, although this film is technically both, it is not in the way we are used to, and watching it did not bring me any pleasure, only an all-pervading feeling of nausea and spiritual pain. Without particular explicitness and with a very slow pace, the film achieves its horror with an incredibly effective atmosphere and natural acting, which largely cover the obvious illogicalities in the story. It derailed me so nonchalantly that a high rating practically goes without saying, and yet, I would never watch it again, nor would I retell it and recommend it. I'd rate it a zero if it could wipe it out of existence.

7/10.

Good, but far from great

First, I must emphasize that I watched the version dubbed into Serbian, so I cannot comment on the original voice actors, nor did they affect my impression of the film. On the other hand, since the iconic Warner cartoons I grew up with in the eighties, I can't remember seeing a better domestic dub. It is not the level of Nikola Simic and Predrag Ejdus, but it is far above anything I have had the opportunity to hear with my children in recent years.

The story is only tentatively based on the myth of Hercules, but I can't take that as a bad thing, because after all, this is a Disney cartoon, not a lesson in Greek mythology. Although cliched, it's not a bad story. The humor is quite sharp and in my opinion, is the strongest asset of this production. However, "Hercules" left a hollow impression on me, it draws too much on the recycling of "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid", and at the same time, it lacks the main feature of Disney cartoons - a catchy and impressive song that gets etched in the brain and stays with us even when the film itself is long forgotten. I'm not saying that the music in the film is bad, it's just forgettable. "Hercules" doesn't have its "Under the Sea," "The Bare Necessities" or "Hakuna Matata."

6/10.

If the last few seasons of GOT were a disappointment to you, don't even start on this 'GOT for the poor', because it's in the same manner as GOT, but not even close to its quality in any way, even compared to the worse seasons. Huge time jumps clutter the story and don't give you time to get interested and attached to anything. As far as the characterization is concerned, even the main characters are lousy compared to the secondary characters from GOT, and the changes of some actors, while others remain the same and for some reason do not age, only add to the confusion and kill any possibility of getting attached to them. Watchable, but compared to GOT, it leaves the impression of a Latin American telenovela.

6/10.

Screenwriter and director Kathryn Bigelow intended to make a western, but since westerns were not particularly popular in the eighties, she decided to mix it with horror. She was not wrong. In a sea of similar vampire movies of the time, this one stands out with ... well, practically everything. Instead of a clichéd vampire horror, we got a Western drama, with an almost noir atmosphere, good music (Tangerine Dream), strong emotion, and striking characters. It is interesting that the leading duo (Adrian Pasdar and Jenny Wright) are supported by a cast (Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Jenette Goldstein) simply taken from the movie "Aliens" (1986), thanks to James Cameron, whom Bigelow soon married. It would be unfair not to mention here the outstanding performance of Joshua John Miller. Overall, a warm recommendation.

8/10.

An orphan who lives with his grandmother grows up to be a cyclist who, with that same grandmother as his coach, goes on the Tour de France. There he is kidnapped, and the grandmother in search of him arrives in America where, with the help of a faithful dog and a trio of elderly singers, she performs a crazy rescue mission.

The film stands out at first sight with its retro surreal animation, bizarre humor, and dark atmosphere. It's extremely ugly in a nostalgically overwhelming way. Also, it is almost completely dialogue-free, accompanied by interesting music. I also liked the tributes to Django Reinhardt, Charles Chaplin, Josephine Baker, and Fred Astaire, as well as the iconic Citroën 2CV. There are more that I won't list now, and I probably didn't even notice many of them. But that's where the praise ends.

Although there are several humorous, entertaining, and touching moments, they are dissolved in 80 minutes of a linear, simple story about two-dimensional and unimpressive characters, which for the most part balances on the edge of boring. The whole movie is one big caricature, promising at the beginning, but then it continues to repeat itself endlessly and soon stops holding attention.

6/10.

In the future, robotics has advanced so much that many wealthier people opt for female androids instead of complicated male-female relationships (which are far more complicated in the future). When Sam's (David Andrews) partner (Pamela Gidley) experiences a short circuit, he hires a tracker (Melanie Griffith) to retrieve the same one from an abandoned warehouse in a lawless desert.

I watched this movie on television as a child and it remained in my vivid memory. In the decades that followed, it often crossed my mind, but I was too lazy to search, until a few days ago I stumbled upon it again. Often, re-watching beloved childhood movies only brings me disappointment and spoiled memories, but that was not the case this time.

The retro-futuristic and somewhat post-apocalyptic story and setting are very reminiscent of the cult "Mad Max", but this is on a lower level. "Cherry 2000" combines an adventure story with some humor, a love triangle, and beautifully directed action at a pace that holds the attention from start to finish. The characters are likable and interesting, except for the main villain, who in my opinion was a miscast, and then thirty-year-old Melanie Griffith steals every scene she is in. With her irresistible charm and unbelievably good looks for a woman who gave birth just before filming, Melanie is by far the strongest asset of this film.

7/10.

To be accepted into a fraternity, two teenagers (Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler) go in search of a stripper for a college party. Of course, things go wrong and turn into a teenage horror-comedy.

While watching the movie, scenes from Scorsese's "After Hours" (1985) and then from Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996) flashed through my head. Later I saw online that many people had the same associations. I wouldn't be surprised if this film was inspired by Scorsese's, as well as if the iconic Rodriguez was inspired by this, with Salma Hayek being, in my opinion, a convincing step up from Grace Jones.

Grace Jones got a relatively small, but important and very impressive role, which should combine sexual sensuality with mystery and fear. She presented the mystery and horror perfectly, but it is completely incomprehensible to me to associate Grace Jones with sexiness, although this lack is obviously subjective, since I didn't find people sharing my opinion. I would also like to mention the leader of the albino gang, who is played by Billy Drago and who is probably the only character that will remain in my memory. The rest of the cast and their performances don't stand out from the sea of mediocre teen comedies.

The same goes for all other aspects of the film. I have no complaints, but I have nothing to praise either. The movie is entertaining, holds the attention, but nothing particularly stands out. Ok for one viewing.

7/10.

Ten years after the phenomenal "The Doomstar Requiem" comes the sequel "Army of the Doomstar", this time as a feature-length animated film. All the technical aspects of the series we loved are here again, everything is apparently the same as it was, except for the most important - humor. Not that this isn't hilariously funny, but it's not even mildly entertaining. One big nothing dragged out for almost an hour and a half, with characters rendered pathetic, rare and failed attempts at humor, and without a single catchy track. Not only is there nothing memorable, but it is so boring that I did not manage to watch it all at once. Shame.

5/10.

WTF I just watched, but in a good way

At one point, 2% of the world's population simply disappears. 140 million people simply evaporated, seemingly at random and without any reasonable explanation. Three years later, the world is still struggling with this trauma, and the three seasons of this series follow that struggle over the next four years.

All three seasons are very different, thematically, atmospherically, tempo-wise, and one could even say genre-wise. What they have in common is that two-thirds of the time you'll have no idea what the hell is going on and why. From the premise, through the situations it causes, to individual human reactions, everything is completely insane. But once you manage to accept that craziness, the story takes on some internal logic of its own and is quite consistent with it. You will get answers to a very small number of questions right away, to many by the end of the season, to some you will forget until you are reminded of them by the denouement in the next season, and many remain a mystery left to free interpretation until the end.

If you're looking for a sensible story that ultimately gives you a rounded denouement and satisfaction, bypass "The Leftovers" in a wide arc. But if you like mindfak stories, which, albeit slow, make your brain speed up to overheat, if you like superb acting that brings a variety of characters to life with depth and believable humanity and powerfully conveys the emotions and drama of human existence, then prepare for an experience you won't easily forget.

9/10.

"I have just been fired because nobody wants to see vampire killers anymore, or vampires either. Apparently, all they want to see are demented madmen running around in ski masks, hacking up young virgins."

At the end of the eighties, I often went to visit my uncle. His son had a big poster for this movie on his bedroom wall. A poster that fascinated me and aroused my curiosity, and because of which I nothing would made me stay alone in that room. At that time, I didn't have a video recorder, and I don't think there were any video clubs, and even if there were, I doubt that my parents would have let me watch horror movies. Three and a half decades later, I finally watched it.

"Fright Night" is without any competition the film that has been sitting on my watch-list for the longest time, and probably decades of anticipation and childhood fascination raised my expectations unrealistically high, but I must say that I am quite disappointed. This movie is not bad, far from it, but it is even further from horror. To whom this is scary, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" would cause a stroke or a heart attack.

A typical representative of the light-horror films of the eighties, at a time when slashers were at their peak, "Fright Night" returns to the vampire mythos and combines it with teenage romance. Characteristic make-up and special effects of that era horrors, with a fair amount of humor and obligatory comic-relief characters (Peter Vincent - the vampire killer, a witty name that alludes to Peter Cushing and Vincent Price). The film is in all respects quite nicely done and entertaining for a relaxing afternoon, but also quite unimpressive and forgettable.

6,5/10.

The rating on IMDb is 6.6/10, Metascore is 52, but how could I resist it when the movie stars Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon, and opens with the Bauhaus number "Bela Lugosi Is Dead".

Ignore the description on IMDb. There is no love triangle here, and the film is a horror only because there are vampires. It is an atmospheric, slightly psychedelic and surreal drama. Although he is the male lead, David Bowie plays a minor role here with a relatively brief screen time, while the focus is on the fairly good characterization of the Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon characters and the lousy development of their relationship.

The story, at least from my perspective, is quite original, but not developed enough. Although the film is slow-paced, the story is rushed and just as it started, it reached the closing credits. The acting and characterization are satisfactory, although it could have been much better. What really counts in this film is the stunning atmosphere of the fantastically filmed, slightly surreal sex scene between the two female protagonists. Everything else is mediocre at best, and the ending is total nonsense.

6/10.

Three silent Western stars lose their jobs and accept an invitation to perform a show in a remote Mexican village, unaware that there is a misunderstanding and that they are actually expected to fend off an attack by a real gang of gunmen.

John Landis' ("The Blues Brothers") parody of the Western genre, with an accent on "The Magnificent Seven", is by no means a masterpiece of the seventh art, but it is a masterpiece of lighthearted comedy of its time, a film that does not take itself seriously. Without the profanity and forced humor that are increasingly the basis of comedies of recent date, "Three Amigos!" combines slapstick gags, witty remarks, and humor suitable for all ages into a relaxing film for the whole family.

Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short give us no more and no less than we've come to expect from them, entertaining performances, without much to praise or complain about. Good music (Elmer Bernstein, who also did music for "The Magnificent Seven"), a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere even, if not especially, in "tense" situations, a couple of absurd and a few really hilarious moments, make this movie a classic of the eighties.

If I were to rate it from the perspective of an elementary school student, which I was when I first watched it, it would be a straight ten, but if I suppress the nostalgia and try to maintain objectivity, I think it's realistic to rate it

7/10.

I have repeatedly come across comments that "Manos" is the worst movie ever. How can you resist and not see it for yourself? Even though I'm very poor with my free time and choosing what to spend it on, I couldn't resist my curiosity. I watched it, it's bad, very bad, but nowhere near the worst. I've seen a couple of thousand movies and some were quite worse than this one.

Basically, the idea and the script aren't that bad at all, the problem is that it was shot totally amateurishly, with an obviously ridiculous budget and equipment, by people who barely knew what they were doing. It's as if someone without any film experience filmed a home movie for the fun of it. It could pass as the first attempt at a feature film by first-year students, but mostly it looks to me like a recording of a theatrical performance of some amateur theater. Seen from the latter perspective, it is not so catastrophically bad. I wouldn't even rule out the possibility that it was done that way on purpose, because at times it has a vibe of a misunderstood art.

All in all, "Manos" is a very bad movie, but it's not bad enough to deserve the cult status of the worst, nor is it bad in the way that some movies turn the game around and fall into the "so bad it's good" category. Any way you look at it, it's a waste of time.

3/10.