Showing posts with label Buckaroo Banzai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buckaroo Banzai. Show all posts

Friday, January 24, 2014

John Dies at the End (2012)


This is the newest film by director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series, Bubba Ho-tep [features Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis battling a mummy in a nursing home for crying out loud!], and Beastmaster). It is a wacky non linear film (what Coscarelli film isn't wacky?) that features Dave and John, two college dropouts who are also interdimensional paranormal warriors. This movie is like a cross between Buckaroo Banzai, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Ghostbusters. The plot is super confusing and don't even worry about understanding it because this film is purely enjoyable because of its weirdness alone, as well as its humor, the acting is good but this isn't a movie you watch for the acting, the heroes battle a monster made entirely out of deli meats and has an uncooked chicken for a head!
(that is not the main villain of the film though) This one has Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown as its biggest name actors, and spoiler John doesn't die at the end. Who would have thunk this craziness didn't just come from the mind of Coscarelli, it was a book first, and a web-serial even before that. Genre wise this movie is a mix between sci-fi horror comedy and action. I'll say this I thought it was good, I didn't love it, but if it was a new TV show I would totally watch it, (I don't like most new TV shows)  it would be like a wackier more indie version of Supernatural. It's almost too wacky for me though, I give it a 4/5, view the trailer below:  

Friday, January 17, 2014

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) AKA Buckaroo Banzai

 This is classic 80s cinema at its best. If you like the best 80s movies like Back to The Future, Top Gun etc., this is for you, great humor (always straight-faced even with ridiculous dialogue), cheap but effective effects, great 80s soundtrack and more. The main character is a martial arts studying brain surgeon, physicist, all around genius and leader of his very own rock band and star of video games comic books and more in his universe. This is the type of movie every six year old boy dreams of making.This movie helped launch the careers of Jeff Goldblum (as Buckaroo's cowboy brain surgeon sidekick lol), Peter Weller (Robocop), Jon Lithgow (3rd rock from the sun, Shrek), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, The Pagemaster), Ellen Barkin (Diner, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Billy Vera (of Billy Vera & the Beaters, an 80s one hit wonder band with the song "At This Moment"), and Clancey Brown (the bad guard from Shawshank Redemption and the frickin voice of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob).  This movie was tailor made for tons of spinoffs merchandise and sequels, but it never got ANY and I will never understand why, My only dissappointment with the film was the characters never went to outer space, or at least never showed it for lack of a bigger budget, even though the film deals strongly with aliens and stuff. Definitely quotable and a no brainer as far as why it has a cult following. I will give it 4.5/5 and say no more, cept watch the end scene of the movie SO good: