Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso

1992

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

I love Miyazaki's films. They are often slow and meditative feeling at times, but the pacing is part of what make his films so unique and wonderful. The pace often adds to the dream-like and often surreal quality of his films.

Porco Rosso centers around the story of an Italian pilot who is cursed to have the face of a pig. Though never fully explained, the film does hint at the causes of the curse. The pilot is a bounty hunter and has his plane destroyed by some rogue air pirates. The pilot must enter a dogfight contest in order to have his repair debt paid off.

I think that I enjoy Miyazaki's later films more than his earlier ones. I did enjoy this film greatly, but I don't think that it compares well with his later films such as Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away. That being said, this is still a film worth checking out... especially for animation fans.

Rustin Allison

Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 2

2001

Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans

The follow-up to the incredibly successful first film fails a bit in keeping to a coherent narrative. I did think some of the gags in this film were funnier than in the first, but I think the first film is the better one.

Rustin Allison

Black Sheep

Black Sheep

2006

Directed by Jonathan King

Black Sheep was a film that I remember seeing the trailer for, but unfortunately it never played in a theater near me. I may have lucked out on that point. I was quite disappointed in the film itself.

The film had the potential to be a great horror-comedy, but I felt the film was filled with too many gags that ended up just falling flat. I thought the idea of people running away from a sheep was hilarious, but this was muddled by using every sheep joke available.

The effects were quite good, but the film isn't worth watching just for them. The sheep creatures were excellent, and you could tell the filmmakers were going for more comedic approach... I just feel they missed their mark just a bit.

Rustin Allison

The Thing

The Thing

1982

Directed by John Carpenter

I really, really enjoyed this film. This is one of those films that I have always heard about, but I have never seen. It truly lives up to its reputation as one of the great horror films.

The aspects of this films that stood out to me are the themes of isolation and paranoia. These men are stuck in a base in the Antarctic at first investigating an alien presence and then trying to escape from it. These are men who can not escape their fate and the inevitableness of the film is one of the things about it that really appealed to me.

The alien can change shape and can take the form of its victims. This leads to a growing sense of paranoia amongst the men as they can no longer trust the people that they have been. This is where the true horror of the film plays out, and I thought the film's greatest moments were when the men could no longer trust one another.

This is one of the few times where I have watched a movie twice back to back and I honestly would not mind watching the film a third or fourth time. The effects were disturbing and amazing and the twisted alien forms had a horrific look to them. I highly recommend this film to any horror or science fiction fan.

Rustin Allison

Little Women Pictures

Little Women

Directed by Margaret Dulcamara

Rugby Theatre

14-21 March 2009

Rustin Allison

Thelma & Louise

Thelma & Louise

1991

Directed by Ridley Scott

This is a film I have not watched in a quite a long time. The performances by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are outstanding, and they portray great strong women characters. My one big problem is that Geena Davis' husband in the film seems more like a macho stereotype rather than a more fleshed out character.

Rustin Allison

Watchmen

Watchmen

2009

Directed by Zack Snyder

I went into this film not knowing anything about the subject matter. The only thing that I knew was that it was an adaptation of a classic graphic novel that takes a very dark look at superheroes. The film is dark, brooding and gritty. I must admit that I was confused for the first thirty minutes are all of the characters in this film were completely new to me. After the first adjustment to the characters and the world they inhabit (an America in 1985 where Nixon is still president), I found the story to be very compelling.

The film doesn't shy away from violence, sex, nudity, and human brutality. It is a very dark look at the negative aspects of humanity. The themes of the film include alienation, justice, responsibility, and ethics of right and wrong. Although the film is very lengthy (almost 3 hours), I definitely feel it deserves a second viewing. 

Rustin Allison

Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors

7 March, 2009

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken

Directed by Matthew White

Just saw this at a matinee yesterday. This is the third time that I have seen a production of Little Shop of Horrors, and though I have loved it both time previously.... this production is by far the best!

One thing that I think made this production so good was the intimate feel of the show. The first time I had seen the show it was at the Muny in St. Louis. This is a large outdoor theatre, and I was pretty far back. The second time I saw the show, it was the national tour of the recent Broadway revival at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Both of these shows were great, but they were also very large productions. The production that I just saw is the UK tour of the Menier Chocolate Factory production. 

I loved every aspect of this production. Before the show starts audio clips from low budget horror and sci-fi films are played and the brick walls of the set had old tattered posters for movies like The Blob. Every role was well cast, especially the female chorus of Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon. The plant was great, and by changing it from a venus fly trap design to a pitcher plant design allows the plant to have much more character and emotion. 

If you are able to go see this production-- go see it! You won't be disappointed!

Rustin Allison

Noby Noby Boy

Noby Noby Boy

This is a very odd game. After playing with it over an hour, I find myself enjoying the game. It is an odd, relaxing sort of game where you have 

no real purpose other than to stretch Boy as long as possible.

Rustin Allison

Notes on a Scandal

Notes on a Scandal

2006

Directed by Richard Eyre

This is a film that I have been meaning to see for a while. This film is worth watching for the two powerhouse performances from Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. While I have always admired Judi Dench, I am only just beginning to appreciate Cate Blanchett. Her perfomances are always superb in the few things that I have seen. 

There other aspect of this film that I enjoyed about this film is the score by Phillip Glass. Although, I am not a fan of his strictly classical works I think his film scores are superb. There always seems to be an unrelenting feeling to his film scores and this apect of his music fits in so well with the themes and narrative of Notes on a Scandal.

Rustin Allison