Category Archives: Martin Cummins

1989 Films, Barbara Bingham, Gordon Currie, Horror, Jason Voorhees, Jensen Daggett, Kane Hodder, Lowest Rated Films, Martin Cummins, Peter Mark Richman, Rob Hedden, Scott Reeves, Slasher

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan-1989

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan-1989

Director Rob Hedden

Starring Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves

Scott’s Review #1,163

Reviewed July 21, 2021

Grade: D+

After eight installments in only nine years of the iconic horror Friday the 13th series, fans by this time know what they are in store for.

The title of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), and its accompanying cover art, offer a glimmer of originality and intrigue.

If this were 1989, I would be excited about the prospects of what this film could deliver.

Hell, the city of New York was dour and dirty in the late 1980s, filled with grit, grime, and seediness. What a perfect setup for our crazed killer, Jason, to mix and mingle with the dregs of society.

I conjured up images of Jason chasing frightened teenagers through graffiti-laced subways and X-rated peep show theaters in the Times Square district.

We get a few location shots of Times Square, but not much more.

Unfortunately for fans, only the final thirty minutes or so of the film are set in the Big Apple, and for eagle-eyed viewers, even less is filmed there.

Years later, director Rob Hedden would blame Paramount Studios for severely limiting the budget allowed for on-location filming.

The result is that Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan feels like a sham.

Okay, the film is a terrible, cheesy, poorly acted, jaggedly paced film, but on a late Saturday night, it provides some fun and comfort, along with the right mood and spirits.

A few years following the events of Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), multiple mass murderer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) is resurrected from the bottom of Crystal Lake after an underwater electrical fire.

After he kills a passing boat’s occupants, he stows away on a cruise ship filled with a high-school graduating class excitedly bound for New York City.

Strict Biology teacher Charles McCulloch (Peter Mark Richman) is on board with his niece, Rennie (Jensen Daggett), who has visions of Jason drowning as a child.

They temporarily escape his bloody rampage, but when Rennie and Charles reach Manhattan, Jason is hot in pursuit.

The ten million other Manhattanites are uninteresting, and Jason must kill Rennie and his cohorts.

There is an unnecessary side story about Uncle Charles pushing Rennie into Camp Crystal Lake in a sink-or-swim moment, when she first saw glimpses of Jason.

This has nothing to do with the main story, nor is it needed.

The rest of the film is exactly as one might suspect, with very few surprises. The character development, limited in slasher films like this, is extremely pitiful and uneven.

One female character is a rocker chick who clutches her electric guitar and plays it nonstop, practically during her death scene.

Other unintentionally laughable characters include a young black man who is an aspiring boxer and attempts to spar with Jason on a building’s rooftop. This proves to be a big mistake when Jason takes one punch at him and decapitates him.

The popular blonde prom queen/mean girl, Tamara (Sharlene Martin), decides to throw Rennie overboard after she catches Tamara doing drugs.

Murdering a fellow student is a better option than being caught.

Finally, the deckhand played by Alex Diakund is a carbon copy of the Crazy Ralph character from Friday the 13th (1980) and Friday the 13th: Part II (1981), even uttering the famous “You’re all doomed” line.

The stereotypes are rampant.

However, unusual for the slasher genre in 1989, diversity is evident, with African-American, Hispanic, and Asian characters. While all are supporting characters and know their purpose is to be bludgeoned, the inclusiveness is at least a slight win.

Other positives are the familiar Camp Crystal Lake setting not being completely scrapped, as the title might indicate. There is something nice and familiar with Jason: a lake, darkness, and murder.

Rob Hedden’s idea to take much of the action to an unfamiliar setting, like a metropolis, is a good one; a city is the opposite of a lake, but the studio screwed the director over royally with its limitations.

Still, a wonderful shot of Times Square can easily transport a viewer watching the film in the present back to 1989 and, if only for a minute, let them experience what life was like.

That’s worth a small something.

2018 Films, Adam McKay, Alfred Molina, Alison Pill, Amy Adams, Bill Camp, Biography, Brad Pitt, Cailee Spaeny, Christian Bale, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Drama, Jesse Plemons, Lily Rabe, Martin Cummins, Naomi Watts, Political Drama, Sam Rockwell, Satire, Steve Carell, Tyler Perry, Will Ferrell

Vice-2018

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Vice-2018

Director Adam McKay

Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell

Scott’s Review #849

Reviewed December 31, 2018

Grade: A

Following 2015’s The Big Short, Adam McKay once again creates an intelligently written, thought-provoking political film based on facts and historical accounts.

With Vice (2018) he focuses on former Vice President Dick Cheney and his rise through the political ranks to second in command.

Brilliant and wise in every way, the film is fair-minded in its approach. Predictably, in this era of “fake news,” it will be embraced by liberals but shunned by conservatives.

In the first seconds of Vice, a disclaimer appears stating that Cheney was a private man with secrets, but the filmmakers did their best to relay accurate information. The salty language in this clip will likely elicit chuckles, but McKay stays the course with his statement.

Immediately, the film flashes to the September 11 attacks with Cheney sitting in crisis mode, about to make an important decision.

Vice then retreats to 1963 Wyoming as a drunken college-aged Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) is pulled over for erratic driving after a barroom brawl. He is nearly dumped by his girlfriend and future wife Lynne Cheney (Amy Adams), who threatens to find another man if Dick does not straighten out.

He manages an internship and an admiration for Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell), a staunch Republican and White House Chief of Staff, and begins his political climb.

In clever form, the film is narrated by a character named Kurt (Jesse Plemons), who we do not know is connected to Cheney until the end of the film. This adds an added measure of intrigue to the overall film, as we know a secret will be revealed.

Vice is also unique in direction, with constant back-and-forth timeline scenes and quirky humor throughout. Are the Cheneys portrayed as ridiculous? No, but sardonic humor is directed at them as their ambitions and power-hungry motivations are completely exposed.

The film does a great job of taking the viewer through the political state of Cheney’s administration, roughly the early 1970s until 2008, when Obama took office. The Clinton years are completely skipped, but that is more to do with Cheney being in the private sector rather than an intentional slight.

The Nixon years and the George W. Bush years are given hefty screen time and the latter is portrayed as nearly a buffoon as Rockwell portrays him as a boozy, dumb frat boy.

Bale is startlingly good as Cheney and deservedly steals the show. In addition to the forty-pound weight gain, the actor endured the facial and hair treatments (props to the makeup department!) and became the man.

His body movements, smile, and speech patterns are daringly good. With a sneer and a calculating grin, we see the wheels spinning in Cheney’s head numerous times, and Bale is incredible at portraying these thoughts to the audience.

The film contains many well-known actors in vital supporting roles worth noting. The depictions of the following are examples of excellent casting with spot-on representations: Tyler Perry as Colin Powell, LisaGay Hamilton as Condoleezza Rice, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Alison Pill as Mary Cheney, and Lily Rabe as Liz Cheney.

All portrayals are excellent to watch, especially for viewers who remember the real-life people involved.

Some will undoubtedly complain that the film has a “liberal slant” and portrays Cheney as power-hungry and self-serving. While this is a valid point, and McKay makes left-leaning choices, the director bravely carves the film into an experience that goes both ways.

More than a few scenes (including the final scene) justify Cheney’s actions, in his mind anyway. Claiming to do what is suitable for the people and be a true American, his actions and yearning for power can be understood to some degree, or perhaps by some people.

Vice (2018) is controversial and undoubtedly divisive, which is unsurprising given the current state of American politics. It tells an inspiring and rich story of an elusive politician’s life and policies, daring to be forgotten, that still resonate across the United States.

The more I ponder this film’s importance, the greater it becomes, but stay past the credits for arguably the best moment in the movie and of monumental importance in 2018.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director- Adam McKay, Best Actor- Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor- Sam Rockwell, Best Supporting Actress- Amy Adams, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling (won), Best Film Editing