I don’t know why I never got around to seeing the THE CROW sequel from the director of SIX-STRING SAMURAI. Always was curious. Still took me 19 years. Lance Mungia’s THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER, just like the previous one, was meant for theaters, but I think it only played somewhere around here? Wiki(dprayer)pedia says its theatrical run was only in Seattle and only for one week, and I do remember seeing an ad for it and being confused, but I was thinking it was in Eastern Washington. Anyway, I didn’t go.
Two Halloweens ago we discussed Tobe Hooper’s first masterpiece. This is his second. He didn’t even want to direct it at first, sort of got pushed into it, but damn did he rally. In many ways THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 is the Tobe Hooperest movie ever made.
I don’t blame you if you’re skeptical during the opening scene where two obnoxious “senior boys at Wheeler High” calling themselves “Buzz and Rick the Prick” drunkenly drive a Porsche, fire guns, and harass the K-OKLA request line until they receive a drive-by chainsawing on a bridge that must’ve been built by the same people who made that endless runway from the climactic chase in FURIOUS 6. (read the rest of this shit…)
I gotta confess coming to this one from a place of cinematic ignorance. I’ve seen the original Godard movie, but I don’t remember jack shit about it. I thought it was pretty good, I believe. That’s about all I got. Still, I’m sure less people could tell you anything about the remake than everything about the original. So this makes me smart. (read the rest of this shit…)
These last couple weeks have been tough on my mental facilities. I reviewed that great new “ULTIMATE” edition of the original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, I also revisited parts 3 and 4 in that original series, then on Thursday I reviewed the new prequel to the remake. So by that point I’d studied and written about pretty much every angle to the whole Texas Chainsaw deal. You’d think I’d be done with it by now, but there is one final chapter: the one spinoff of the original movie that achieves its own level of True Greatness. I am talking about Tobe Hooper’s 1986 sequel, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2. It’s been available on DVD for a couple years in a bare bones edition (get it, that is a pun because of all the skeletons they have) but Tuesday it comes out in a much deserved special edition with new commentaries, featurettes and deleted scenes. (read the rest of this shit…)
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Recent commentary and jibber-jabber
Bert on Flipper (1996): “Here’s a Nick Cave quote on the RHCPs that speaks to my soul: “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What…” May 20, 06:08
pegsman on Heaven’s Prisoners: “I liked Baldwin as Robicheaux. But I would find it enormously ironic if there is a series of successful adaptions…” May 19, 22:35
Falconman on Flipper (1996): “The Archie project mentioned by Shapiro made me think of a live-action TV movie, ARCHIE: TO RIVERDALE AND BACK AGAIN.…” May 19, 17:20
Miguel Hombre on Heaven’s Prisoners: “One thing I remember from the films initial release was the grandstanding statements from Joanou about how Baldwin’s performance was…” May 19, 17:08
Kevin Weldon on Flipper (1996): “Oh, I see someone beat me to the punch on Dink. Oh well.” May 19, 13:48
Kevin Weldon on Flipper (1996): “The Unknown tee looks to be from the short-lived band Dink, who I never heard of but this era of…” May 19, 13:47
so-and-so on Flipper (1996): “the year was 1996 and america was taken with a new dance craze called the spunky dolphin dink were on…” May 19, 12:58
Alex R on Flipper (1996): “The kid in the original is actually also trying to get to the same Red Hot Chili Peppers concert Elijah…” May 19, 12:03
Mr. Majestyk on Flipper (1996): “Couple months ago I sorta half-watched the original FLIPPER movie on AMC while keeping my friend company as she got…” May 19, 11:32
CJ Holden on Flipper (1996): “Now that I think of it, I am pretty sure that I watched episodes of FLIPPER as a kid, but…” May 19, 10:39
Alex R on Flipper (1996): “Would’ve been a more interesting movie if he’d been trying to catch a Stereolab concert, for sure. The band Flipper…” May 19, 10:21
Borg9 on Heaven’s Prisoners: “I’ve seen this and read the book; I remember practically nothing about it, although I remember liking the book, if…” May 19, 09:11
Mr. Majestyk on Flipper (1996): “I wonder if Elijah Wood died a little inside every time he had to wear one of these T-shirts. By…” May 19, 09:05
Robert on Iron Eagle: “honestly this is an embarrassing movie to sit through, it probably works for people who watch it late at night…” May 19, 06:21
pegsman on Heaven’s Prisoners: “Already being a huge fan of Joanou after his masterpiece STATE OF GRACE, I developed a soft spot for this…” May 18, 22:52
Two Halloweens ago we discussed Tobe Hooper’s first masterpiece. This is his second. He didn’t even want to direct it at first, sort of got pushed into it, but damn did he rally. In many ways THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 is the Tobe Hooperest movie ever made.
Boys, boys, boys–
