Zombie High (1987)
Virginia Madsen, James Wilder, Sherilyn Fenn and future director Paul Feig star in this horribly non-compelling ‘horror’. A ‘girl’ (Madsen) goes to a prep school. Cheesy 80s music plays, there are dated clothes, a punk and bad acting. Madsen and Fenn have bad perms.
There is no malicious insanity as the students are stripped of individuality. This was not contemplative and there is a total lack of tension. One of the co-writers of this was Aziz Ghazal who later committed a murder/suicide.
Anyway this was nondescript, not catastrophic just astoundingly dull. There is fateful foreshadowing and TPTB have an infallible touch for getting things wrong. There is dated tech, stalking, pay phones and Madsen’s ex (Wilder) lurks. Just don’t bother.
Best Lines:
“I’m personal friends with Ralph Lauren.”
“Don’t cross me John. This school is your last chance.”
“Real friendly people you got around here.”
“This place smells of success.”
“Did you hear something?”
“No.”
“Somebody’s tuition cheque must have bounced.”
“Carpe diem!”
“My whole theory is inbreeding.”
“Brotherhood of eternal knowledge.”
~
Argo (2012)
Based on a true story. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was stormed. Six people escaped onto the street and hid at the Canadian ambassador’s house. Unilateral action is needed. CIA agent Tony (Ben Affleck who also directs) must overcome insurmountable hurdles to get them out of Iran. He plans to fake a movie shoot and smuggle them out. He has help from Agency people and Hollywood types as radicalism threatens the very very quiet six. This was laudable. Tony has big heartedness and ample experience. The six have general discomfort due to Iran’s credo and men saying angry, scary things. This was not accurate to facts from a historical perspective.
Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler and Titus Wlliver feature. Tony and the six must escape negative reactions. This was okay and done with aplomb despite being deeply unrealistic and full of desperate ravings and tedious old men.
Best Lines:
“They die badly. Publicly.”
“They’re over the walls.”
“If you shoot one person they’re gonna kill every single one of us in here.”
“Reassemble the shreds.”
“Provide them with maps to the Turkish border.”
“Worst place you can think of.”
“A 20 million dollar ‘Star Wars’ rip-off.”
“A town of 4 million people. All of whom chant ‘Death to America’ all the live long day.”
“If you are detained, the Agency will not claim you.”
“They’ll kill you long before prison.”
“John Wayne’s in the ground six months. This is what’s left of America.”
“If you are detained for questioning, they will bring in someone who knows that.”
~
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
This was okay and made with grim determination to bury the prequels. Old and new faces come together as the First Order takes on the Resistance. People look old, people fight, there is pretty scenery, recalcitrant people with opaque motives and odd names and yet another take on the Death Star. Foreshadowing flies, there are brutal levels of psychological violence, Adam Driver emotes, there is humour and this was unsubtle and too long. Kylo Ren (Driver) has messianic views and the First Order has more Nazi iconography than ‘Triumph of the Will’.