I've been catching up on some of the cinematic goodies (old and new) that I missed while doing the ol' 24/7 in Toronto on Falling Skies. Here are some more thoughts...
WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST: TiVoed off AMC-HD, I'm sure I saw this on regular TV way back when, but this is the first time in a LONG time I've been able to revisit the entire sequel in the saga this IS poor Col. Manning. Blasted by a plutonium bomb in a scene that looks like it heavily inspired the creation of The Hulk, poor Manning grew to 60 feet (more or less) and got himself shot off Hoover Dam at the end of the first movie.
In this follow-up, Manning's devoted sister suspects the big guy is still alive because a Mexican village has been plagued by trucks disappearing without a trace. Naturally, the only possible answer is that a 60 ft man is picking them up and walking off with them. When the police find a footprint the size of a Volkswagon, the growling, badly scarred and still 60' Manning goes "rrRRRRRRrrr!" He's knocked out, tied up (badly), escapes, then havok ensues. Clocking in at under 60 minutes and making absolutely no concessions to science or biology, it's still a fun movie and the "Colossal Beast" (beast? Really? People can be so cruel!) is a great monster.
LET ME IN: The American remake of the great Swedish vampire film, and just as cool and creepy as the original. My only comment/caveat is that I preferred the handling of the infamous swimming pool scene in the Swedish version. Still, both versions have much to recommend them.
PIRANHA 3D: Maybe Alexandre Aja's 3-D remake (?) plays better when you're wearing the glasses, but I saw this in 2D blu-ray and couldn't finish it. I thought Aja's "High Tension" was a taut horror movie, and it's interesting to see Kelly Brook, who played Lex Luthor's wife back in my Smallville days. And I always liked Elizabeth Shue. But sadly a Richard Dreyfuss cameo is the highpoint of what I saw. Oh well. They can't all be "Dolph Lungren Is The Killing Machine."
