Day 243: The Woman In Red (1984)

Since the announcement of the death of legendary comedic actor Gene Wilder yesterday, I wanted to pay tribute to him. So, I took the time and dedicated today to him by watching a film I hadn’t seen yet in The Woman In Red which sees Wilder pulling triple duty. Teddy Pierce (Gene Wilder) is an ad executive who kind of has everything a man would need in life like a decent job, a good family, and good friends. So, what in the world would get him to screw that up? Well, what If I was to tell you that he one day he sees the most beautiful woman in a model named Charlotte (Kelly LeBrock). He wants to meet her so bad that he is actually willing to risk it all so he tries to come with a full proof scheme. The film also stars Charles Grodin (Beethoven) as Buddy, Joe Bologna (Blame It On Rio) as Joey, Judith Ivey (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Didi Pierce, Michael Huddleston (Vampires) as Mikey, Gilda Radner (Saturday Night Live) as Ms. Milner, Kyle Heffner (High Crimes) as Richard, Michael Zorek (Hot Moves) as Shelly, Kyra Stempel (Camp Nowhere) as Missy Pierce, and the film was written and directed by Gene Wilder.

This was actually a very good movie from Gene and I can definitely see why it did well. Gene put on one heck of a performance as well with his typical calm on the outside, but nervous wreck on the inside about to explode. The thing that I loved about the film that I wish there was more of was the interactions with Bologna, Grodin, and Huddleston because those were some of the more hilarious moments on film. One of my favorites from them was one night they go to a restaurant and Grodin pretends to be blind and he just starts messing everything up. Now, let’s be honest with each other moving forward and say that Kelly LeBrock was one heck of a choice for the woman in red as this was her first role. Kelly was an absolute smoke show back in the day and those few moments in the film where you get teased with her body was worth the wait. I loved the scene in the parking garage where they pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe with the air that blows the dress up. I thought that was a nice ode to classic Hollywood. One scene that was kind of awkward was an interaction between Judith Ivey’s character and Michael Zorek’s that they never expanded on. He just goes in and tries to cop a feel, but they end it on that and it’s never mentioned again. The film had plenty of subplots, but one that they barely scratch in the surface is the fact that Charles Grodin’s character was gay. I mean especially for 1984, that is a huge bombshell and they just sort of brush it to the side and not talk about it. That was my only problem with the film, but overall I really enjoyed it. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Day 164: What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

I was scrolling through the HBOGO catalog looking for a film that I wanted to watch and I landed o a film that I have been meaning to watch for quite some time now. The film I chose for today is a mockumentary called What We Do In The Shadows. The film follows four vampires Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonny Brugh), and Petyr (Ben Fransham) who live together in a house in the modern world. The friends are being followed around by a camera crew as they learn to adapt in the world, but soon things will change for them. You see a hipster named Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) gets bitten and he makes things difficult for the friends as new challenges present themselves daily. The film also stars Stu Rutherford (Eagle Vs Shark) as Stu, Jackie van Beek (Just Like The Others) as Jackie, Elena Stejko (Rain) as Pauline Ivanovich – The Beast, Chelsie Preston Crayford (The Mystery Of A Hanson Cab) as Josephine, Rhys Darby (Flight Of The Conchords) as Anton – Werewolf, Cohen Holloway (Good For Nothing) as Dion- werewolf, Jason Hoyte (The Insatiable Moon) as Julian, and the film was directed by both Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.

I wanted to start off by saying that I thought the film was hilarious at times as the crew provided plenty of laughs. The film is funny because sometimes the most ridiculous can just be funny and that is cool. There were scenes where the guys were so out of place in society that it was hilarious to watch. Seeing the way they interact with each other on screen is another funny part especially the vampire fights. I supposed if you love Flight Of The Conchords, then you know what to expect and you’ll probably love it too. One of my favorite vampires in the film was played by Jemaine Clement, there was just something so outrageous about his look that made him both funny and cool. I especially love the segment when he talks about the beast which believe me you will learn about it. One of my other favorite interactions came with the human known as Stu, those are some classic scenes because the guys just love him. If you are a fan of mockumentaries, horror comedies, or films that don’t take themselves too serious then you’ll love this one because it’s fun to watch. It also pokes friendly fun at all of your favorite horror genres from vampires, zombies, and werewolves. I enjoyed it a lot and like I said above, it’s available on HBOGO as we speak. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Day 52: Freaks Of Nature (2015)

I was going through my local Redbox trying to find a film to watch when I stumbled upon one that caught my eye based on the poster. The film is called Freaks Of Nature and it’s a horror comedy that was released back in October. In the town of Dillford, humans, zombies, and vampires all live in some form of harmony together. They work together, live near each other, and go to school together so it sort of seems normal. That is until one unfaithful day when the Aliens all of a sudden decide to show up. The aliens bring chaos and unnerving thoughts that send everyone in a downward spiral. That is until three teens, a human named Dag (Nicholas Braun), a zombie named Ned (Josh Fadem), and a vampire named Petra (Mackenzie Davis) have to team up to try and save their town from not only the aliens, but from each other as well. The film also stars Denis Leary (Rescue Me) as Rick, Ed Westwick (J. Edgar) as Milan, Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) as Lorelei, Keegan-Michael Key (Let’s Be Cops) as Mr. Keller, Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad) as Shooter Parker, Joan Cusack (High Fidelity) as Peg Parker, Chris Zylka (Piranha 3DD) as Chaz Jr., Ian Roberts (Get Hard) as Chaz Sr., Mae Whitman (Independence Day) as Jenna Zombie, Patton Oswalt (King Of Queens) as Stuart Miller, and the film was directed by Robbie Pickering.

If you are afraid of how cheesy this film could be, well don’t bee because I really liked it. I feel like horror comedies are the new thing in Hollywood with how good Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse proved to be. Freaks Of Nature is sort of a spoof movie without actually being one if that makes any sense to you. It kind of pokes fun at the vampire genre with some of the vampires looking like they came straight out of Twilight or how the aliens look as if they came out of The War Of The Worlds. I’m not going to give it away completely, but there is also an homage paid to Teen Wolf contained within the film and when you see it you’ll know what I am talking about. Vanessa Hudgens is and always has been super hot and she definitely is in this film as the sexy Lorelei, the object of Dag’s affection until he meets his one true love that takes him time to discover. There were only a couple of times I thought to myself that the film was getting a little cheesy, but not enough to deem this a Cheeseball Cinema worthy film because it was that good. It has all the comedy you could want with some horror like chase scenes and suspense with the aliens as well. The acting was very good and the cinematography was good too.Wait till you see what happens to the alien at the end, it looks like he is that creature from Basket Case. It was a fun film to watch and defintely worth your time if you enjoy horror comedies knowing that they are just that “Horror Comedies”. With that being said, I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.