Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Critters: A New Binge


-------------------------------------------------------------------
In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see.  I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future).  You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
-------------------------------------------------------------------


Critters:  A New Binge                                                OK/G
Critters.  The franchise featuring those furry little aliens with rows of sharp teeth spanning four films from 1986 to 1992.  While it may not be the best franchise out there, it’s still enjoyable and better than other franchises like Ghoulies and maybe even Gremlins considering there were only two and the second one wasn’t that great.  I am a fan of Critters; it’s a fun ‘80’s sci-fi romp.  Critters 2:  The Main Course naturally wasn’t as good but definitely a worthy follow-up.  Critters 3 was decent for a threequel but obviously didn’t hold a candle to the first two (Leonardo DiCaprio’s first film too for those unaware).  Critters 4 was, well…my least favorite of the series (the longest one too!) and not because it was set in space.  If I can say anything positive about it, it wasn’t the worst movie I’ve seen, nor the worst space-set movie I’ve seen.  In other words, I like the films best in chronological order.  One thing I do love about the franchise, the creatures in particular, which is indicative of the time they were released, is the practical designs.  With all the CGI crap out there now, it always elates me to watch older films (or even modern ones) with practical effects/creatures.  I absolutely do not hate the creatures, especially in the first two, and no surprise given the legendary Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns from Outer Space) were behind them (all four films).  Anyway, this new series available on Shudder consists of 8 scant episodes totaling roughly 74 minutes, making the longest one 11 minutes.  I understand that format may work for those with short attention spans and someone that may want to catch an episode during their paid break, but why couldn’t they just make it a 74-minute movie?  Aside from that questionable presentation, the content itself was more or less the same way I felt about Critters 3---it was a decent addition to the franchise but not something I’d rave about.  That’s not to say it wasn’t fun, it was, plus there’re a few bloody moments and the episodes unsurprisingly whiz by; there’s also a clever yet idiosyncratic twist I never would’ve expected (which may kickstart a whole new storyline given another sequel was suggested at the end).  Thankfully this wasn’t a remake either (an unfortunate commonality these days) despite containing a direct homage to Critters 2.  At least the creatures are practical too (a rarity these days) despite looking different, no surprise considering the Chiodo Brothers weren’t involved, but some of the splatter effects were obviously digital.  I also didn’t care for the Critters being given more characterization this time, although it may have been necessary in regards to that aforementioned twist.  This is very much only for Critters fans not expecting much from this type of fare to begin with, but you don’t necessarily have to see the films before watching this even though I suggest you do so your expectations aren’t that high and you may appreciate the older entries more.  4/22/2019


Bonus review:


Escape Room                                                              OK/G
I think the very notion of an Escape Room has been worn out already.  There’s been at least one other movie with the same title and concept released within the past year (check out my review for it in the archives---www.abcreviewarchive.blogspot.com), and I’m tired of hearing about the real ones that seem to be popping up every which way.  No, I’ve never been in one and don’t really have a desire to.  I have no patience and I’m not too good at figuring out riddles under pressure (I’d need ample time alone since my brain always has several tabs open at once), but my Mom brought it up recently so I have a feeling I might partake in one eventually.  Anyway, this new film about a group of six people partaking in a deadly Escape Room actually wasn’t bad and generally had my attention.  It’s kind of like a Saw film but not quite, maybe more like Cube from what I recall, although this was probably more elaborate.  It does, however, get a bit conventional towards the end and I was kind of hoping for a revelation I anticipated may have happened but didn’t.  All in all though, you could do much worse.  4/23/2019

Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):


Between Worlds  >>>EH/OK

Capernaum  >>>G/VG

Destroyer  >>>OK

Horror Noire:  A History of Black Horror  >>>OK/G

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase  >>>OK

The Night Before Halloween  >>>B

The Quake  >>>EH/OK

Show Pieces  >>>OK

The Sisterhood of Night  >>>EH/OK

The Vanishing (2019)  >>>OK

---Sean O.
4/24/2019

No comments:

Post a Comment