The Blob (1988): Review

I'll be honest: I hated the beginning of this film. I didn't find any sort of three-dimensional quality in any of the characters, even through most of the film. I loathed the hetero sexism and chauvinistic approach the many of the male characters had toward woman. Good riddance sleezeball!

I could have also done without the creepy reverend, like holy Christ that was great acting and great casting.

Another aspect of this film I didn't care for, but I contradict myself on: the lack of diversity. I understand that this is a rural setting, but I disliked the fact the only human antagonist was African American.

Moving on.

I really did like Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon). Rebel without a cause, but that is only a surface value assessment of his character. He's not like every one, not like these sleezy, predatory, high school skirt chasers. The Blob was the real hero in this tale from that perspective.

I did see a parallel to The Color Out of Space", but all else was different. In keeping to the time period, the 80's were certainly a time of political unrest given that communism was still on the minds of many American's.

Rating: 4/5

Lovecraft Stories: Review

Lovecraft is known (and infamous) for his tales, which are often linguistically dense. Lovecraft's tale, The Outsider, is among his best, as is The Call of Cthulhu, and Pickman's Model. What is striking about these three pieces in their connecting elements. The element that connects these three pieces is that one doesn't actually see the monster through the narrative. Granted the reader does not see the monsters, they do get a glimpse at the end.

The Outsider is one of those mind-bending pieces that one has to work on. Lovecraft does very well with his creepy settings (See Dagon, At the Mountains of Madness). This is perhaps one of Lovecraft's most technical stories, not just with language, but what does does with both. It reads a bit like poetry, and it may have worked in poetic verse. What makes this work tick, what gives it that impact is the one-two punch of the ending.

The Call of Cthulhu is one of those pieces that feels like it goes on longer than it really is. Perhaps that's its creepy-factor, but one of the aspects of the piece is that fact it unravels as it goes on, and given the world-wide scale, it could have been ten times the length. What makes Cthulhu such an effective monster is that, we only understand so little about it, but we understand the scope of its abilities: to influence the minds of humanity. Cthulhu is one of those monsters that puts the others to shame.

Pickman's Model is more tame than the other two pieces by Lovecraft. The creepiness is there and the ending is what Lovecraft's tales are known for. What makes this such an effective piece, like The Outsider, Lovecraft makes great use of the environment and time settings and adds in the unknown, which isn't supernatural, or not on the surface. Lovecraft leaves out more than enough to keep a reader on edge and it's not because of his maddening use of language.

Rating: The Outsider-4/5; The Call of Cthulhu-4.5/5, Pickman's Model-4/5

"Let Them Fight" (For Love!) Godzilla (2014) Review

Where to begin. . . My inner fanboy is screaming!

I liked. I really did.

Aside from being overly critical of the plot, which was cookie-cutter, but there was something about how the characters were handled that struck a cord. Yes, I didn't expect much since this was an action film, but my statement about character stands.

The monsters are the REAL characters (to me at least). I got a Lovecraftian feel from the monsters. They are older than any known extinct creature, and that Godzilla is a force of nature itself to maintain balance is an interesting concept. I couldn't help but build a parallel to the Weapons of Final Fantasy 7. Godzilla is NOT a force of good, though its actions are beneficial to a degree, its role in the film is what places Godzilla into a neutral role.

The "love birds" as I will name them, are also neutral to a degree. Their destructive prowess and ability to feed on radiation and draw a strange form of nourishment can place them in the evil spectrum. (They're not bad, just misunderstood, to borrow a phrase from Hagrid from the Harry Potter series). I find an amusing parallel between the "love birds" and angler fish: the male is always the smaller.

Atomic Breath for the win!

Not to go too much into the plot, which does a nice job of adding to the suspense. Though, comparing this film to the 2016 version, there is equal parts political interest and the nuclear bomb (or two) thrown into the mix, raises the stakes and a mushroom cloud, just for good measure!

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Snow by Ronal Malfi

Words are difficult to come by in review of this novel, hence a brief review.

A largely negative aspect of this novel was in the beginning and ultimately the characters. Being stranded at an airport during a blizzard and wanting to see ones son can drive some people to challenge Mother Nature. But, Todd Curry's personality needed more refining: he acted too much like an atypical male; the elderly couple felt like tag-a-longs and even liabilities; Kate was basically a damsel in distress. Most of this novel was just a reaction to everything.

I did enjoy the monster, particularly the little girl without a face. I liked the monsters but they didn't leave much of an impression.

One aspect of the monsters that I did find interesting was that they had some "tourist trap" set up, hence adding intelligence to the creatures. The aspect of the monsters being part of nature itself was interesting, but I didn't stand out in my head all that much.

Malfi's novel had promise, if only it had gone through closer editing. 

Rating: 2/5.