Informative but not as deep as I would have liked, 28 October 2017
Overall, Return to Crystal Lake: Making 'Friday the 13th' is good, but I was left wanting more. The stories that are presented are interesting enough, but with a series that I've enjoyed since 1980, it's difficult to find new ground that hasn't already been covered. I've seen interviews in the past with Sean Cunningham and Tom Savini, so I didn't learn much new from them. I always enjoy seeing Adrianne King interviewed regardless of whether she's got anything new to say or not. She has a real infectious way about her that I find appealing. Finally, I'm not sure I've ever seen Betsy Palmer discuss her remembrances with Friday the 13th, so this part was a highlight for me. I appreciate her honesty in answering why she took the role - to pay for a new car. Good stuff!
As I always do, I'm rating this as I would any other documentary - using my two pronged approach. First, was it informative? Second, was it entertaining? Informative - like I said, I didn't learn a ton that I wasn't already aware of. Because of that, I can't give it more than 2/5 points for this part of the rating. Entertaining - a big yes. Ms Palmer's contribution was a treat. A 4/5 for entertainment.
6/10
"Listen to me. I don't want to have any trouble.", 27 October 2017
Here's my simple and short plot summary – A group of dorky Taekwondo practitioners, who also happen to be college roommates and bandmates, find themselves doing battle with a group of motorcycle riding drug dealers, who also just happen to be expert martial artists.
Miami Connection (not sure why it's called Miami Connection – most of it is set in Orlando) is a real stinker. Just look at that plot. The story is beyond ridiculous. It's actually more stupid than it sounds – singing college-going ninjas battling drug lords – yeah, right. Words fail me when trying to describe the ineptitude on display. The acting and direction are abysmal. Why am I not surprised to discover that almost no one involved with Miami Connection has any other credits on their resume? The music will annoy you long after the film ends. The song about friendship reminded me of something straight out of an ABC After School Special. It's an earworm that keeps on giving. Finally, the fight choreography is surprisingly bad. I say "surprisingly" because it's obvious that Y.K. Kim is actually a solid martial artist. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate well to the screen.
So, if Miami Connection is as bad as I say, why the 5/10 rating? Well, despite the plethora of problems, this movie is still entertaining. It may be entertaining for all the wrong reasons, but it's still entertaining. I honestly laughed out loud several times. I watch movies for entertainment and I got a fair amount of entertainment out of Miami Connection. If you "enjoy" bad movies, this one should not be missed.
5/10
"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.", 27 October 2017
I'll keep this brief as there are a million articles/reviews on Jurassic Park spread across the internet that are better written and more intelligent than anything I could ever hope to come up with. And forget about a plot summary. If you're not familiar with the plot of Jurassic Park, stop reading my drivel and go check it out right now. As my rating clearly indicates, I love this film. The word "classic" gets thrown around too easily when describing movies. But here it's deserved. Jurassic Park truly is a modern classic. It's family/action/popcorn filmmaking at its finest. It's hard to believe that Jurassic Park is almost 25 years old. I remember seeing it in the theaters and being completely blown away by the special effects. They were simply stunning. More amazingly, however, is how well the effects hold-up. I hadn't seen it in several years, but I watched it the other night with my 5 year-old. This was a first time viewing for him and I'm happy to say he's now a fan. When the first dinosaurs came on screen, I could see he was filled with the same excitement and amazement that I was in 1993. The CGI here is as good as any movie I've ever seen. While CGI may have become more common, I think filmmakers have gotten lazy. In too many modern movies, the CGI is obviously CGI. Here, everything looks "real". They took the time and spent the money to get it right. And the mix of computer effects with puppetry is pretty much seamless. I may not care for everything he's made, but I'll give Steven Spielberg credit here. He took an unbelievable premise and turned it into a very believable world. Jurassic Park is pure movie magic.
9/10
