Detroit 9000 (Welcome To The Motor City)

Score: 6 Out Of 10

 

                Just because I know someone who reads this will wonder, '9000' is in the title because at the time this film was made, '9000' was the police code for officer down. "Detroit 9000 (1973)" was directed by Arthur Marks and stars Hari Rhodes, Alex Rocco and Vonetta McGee. Also, keep an eye out for Scatman Crothers; I really enjoyed his role in this movie. The plot tells of one white cop and one black cop that team up to solve a jewel heist that targets a black senator who is announcing his candidacy for mayor. For a film in the black exploitation genre, I have to give this film credit for being very well made. The dialogue is fun but not to corny, the acting was above par for the genre and it was pretty well directed. For the vast majority of this film, I was really into it. I admit that there are some moments when things slow down a little too much, but those moments are few and far between. I also want to mention the soundtrack. It was great! there were so many moments where I was really in to the music. So much so that I actually watched one scene over again because I was so into the music I missed what was happening!

 

          The down side is that this film has a powerful message behind it. I know that race is a pretty touchy subject and I do not want my blog to become a political argument, so I am going to make this point as well as I can without being offensive. Here goes; Normally I appreciate a film that can make a good statement, but this movie made it over and over. The first hour of the movie I was really behind them, but then after being beat over the head so much, I found myself rolling my eyes during every other scene. What the film makers should have done was make there message more subtle and let the audience draw there own conclusions about what this movie was about. My conclusion is that despite all this movie had going for it, they blew it.

 

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy.

Facebook: B-Movie Guy   Twitter: @BMovieguy

 

Wishmaster 3: Beyond The Gates Of Hell (Part 3 Of 3)

Score: 2 Out Of 10

            Admittedly, the first two "Wishmaster (1997 and 1999)" films were not that bad. Some blood, some guts, some humor and a lot of fun. This film on the other hand is just plain bad. "Wishmaster 3: Beyond The Gates Of Hell (2001)" was directed by Chris Angel (not the equally-as-lame-as-this-movie illusionist) and stars Jason Connery, A.J. Cook and John Novak. The plot is a watered down version of the first movies plot, only this time around the djinn is focusing on a college girl and her friends (this is nowhere near as fun as it sounds). So, if you take away everything that made the first couple of movies enjoyable and add bad acting, writing, and one good special effect in a sea of bad ones what you would be left with is "Wishmaster 3." By the way, the "special effect" that bothered me the most was when one character gets his face ripped off. The prosthetic face comes off and underneath is the actors real face just covered in blood. You can still see his eyelashes. Yeah... That bad.

           The most troubling aspect of this film is John Novak's portrayal of the djinn. In the "Nightmare On Elm St." franchise, it is always Robert Englund playing "Freddy Kruger." So if nothing else you know you will at least get the enjoyment of watching Englund do what he does best even if the movie was not that good. Andrew Divoff did a great job playing the djinn, even if the second film was not that great, you still got to watch Divoff giving a pretty fun performance. Novak, on the other hand, gives us a performance that is way to hammy for me to take him seriously. Even with the rest of the film being terrible, I still would have given it a better score if they had just gotten Andrew Divoff back.

Love, 

   The B-Movie Guy

Facebook: B-Movie Guy   Twitter: @BMovieguy

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (Part 2 Of 3)

Score: 5 Out Of 10

          The First "Wishmaster (1997)" is pretty good. It' funny and creepy. The special effects are pretty cool and there are plenty of fun cameos if you know your horror movies. The sequel is another story. "Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999)" was directed by Jack Sholder (different director) and stars Andrew Divoff (same actor), Holly Fields and Chris Weber. The plot once again tells the story of an ancient Djinn once again released in our modern day society to grant evil versions of peoples wishes. This time his plan is to grant one thousand and one wishes so his race will inherit the Earth. The immediate problem with this movie is that the first act is essentially just one giant plot hole. After a botched art robbery and unwittingly unleashing the Wishmaster (who is now referring to himself as such, by the way), the main character is forced to leave her dying boyfriend behind. The Djinn grants the dying man his wish that he had never been born which leads to some pretty lame CGI effects. Then the main character spends the next half hour grieving over her dead boyfriend... who she should not remember... because he was never born...

      Some of the elements that made the first movie good are in play here. The acting is pretty solid (not Oscar worthy, of course, but solid) and I like that there seems to be less CGI in this movie than in its predecessor. Also close to the end there is a pretty cool magic rampage scene that is full of awesome homegrown special effects. But despite the high points, a lot of what made the first one cool just seems to be missing. There are no cameos worth mentioning and most of the humor behind it just left me rolling my eyes. Even the ending just seems like a watered down version of the first films ending. Just lame.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy.

Facebook: B-Movie Guy   Twitter: @BMovieguy

Wishmaster (Part 1 of 3)

Score: 7 Out Of 10

           I had some pretty low expectations for this movie. I watched the trailer and thought, 'this is gonna be all kinds of lame.' But I was pleasantly surprised when the opening sequence actually drew me in. "Wishmaster (1997)" was directed by Robert Kurtzman and stars Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff and Robert Englund (of Freddy Kruger fame). Also keep an eye out for Kane Hodder (Jason Vorhees) and Tony Todd (Candy Man). The film tells the story of an evil genie (or a Djinn; BTW, check out the Wikipedia page for these guys. pretty interesting stuff) who is trapped in a gem stone in ancient Persia, then is released in present times (actually about seventeen years ago) to cause havoc by twisting peoples wishes around in a classic style. The story really opens the door for some really cool creature effects. Also I like that the movie starts by showing you some pretty awesome effects. I just really appreciate how much time and effort goes into making really good, believable looking monsters. Especially the look of the Djinn himself (some pretty solid acting on the part of Andrew Divoff does not hurt either).

           The other side of the special effects coin is that there is some pretty terrible CGI in play here as well. I fell like you can not blame budget constraints for bad computer effects, though. They had about five million dollars to play with. I think this is a case of computer generated imagery not being as good as we remember it being in the mid to late nineties. All that aside, this is a pretty good horror flick. I say turn out the lights, pop some popcorn and spend an hour and a half daydreaming about the wishes you would make.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Facebook: B-Movie Guy   Twitter: @BMovieguy