Halloween Sequels (II - Resurrection) Review

Was gonna do separate reviews for each of these movies but decided to combine them into one big chunk, since I don't really have a whole lot to say about many of them. so without further ado here are my thoughts on the Halloween sequels.

Halloween II (1981)

In the first 15 minutes of this film a 17 year old kid dressed as Mike Myers gets pinned against a van by a police car that promptly explodes for no reason and it's absolutely ridiculous.
And that's not all, as the film is riddled with dumb moments, but you know what? it's still quite a fun watch overall. It takes a more general Slasher approach, with more violence and Donald Pleasance continues his enjoyable ramblings as the constantly on edge Dr. Loomis. ***

Halloween III: Season of the witch (1983)

 

This one gets a lot of flack for not having Mike Myers and being a completely different and new film as the studio wanted to carry on using the Halloween moniker but with a new film idea each time like an anthology.
Despite that though if you view this as a standalone horror as you're supposed to, this is actually quite an enjoyable film. Yeah some of it is still a little silly but it's got a nice little mystery that keeps it intriguing, as well as a couple good gruesome moments. My brother remarked that it's a bit like a James bond film except the spy elements are taken out and replaced by horror ones, I don't think he's far wrong, plus the film has quite a dark ending that I found to be quite effective. ***

Halloween 4: The return of Michael Myers (1988) Review

So of course Season of the witch failed and they brought back Michael Myers, and this is where the series starts getting a lot dumber, although this entry may be the blandest of the entire series.
Mike Myers is alot less intimidating (though his lowest point is still to come), there's barely any suspense or violence and it just kinda drags, especially towards the end. The most enjoyable stuff seems to be Dr Loomis and his rambling again, with the biggest highlight being when he's picked up  off the side of the road by a reverend, and honestly, they should have just made a road movie between those two as I would watch the shit out of it. **

Halloween 5: The Revenge Michael Myers (1989)

I thought 4 was bad...then 5 comes along and delivers this incompetent garbage.
I swear this film is meant to be a comedy because all I kept doing is laughing throughout. Myers has an awful and bothersome flappy neck on his mask making him the least scariest of the franchise, in fact Dr. Loomis is more terrifying in this, always bugging the poor Jamie Lloyd kid who is now psychic for some reason. There's also weird sound effects at certain points and the music score is a bit off and not quite working. 

Then of course you got the start of the Thorn bullshit and the whole thing is just inept. I think I still enjoyed it more than 4 but for all the wrong reasons. **

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

 

I watched the producer's cut of this but also skimmed through the theatrical cut to compare and both are pretty bad with awful climaxes, but the producer's cut is a little more coherent with a better soundtrack opting for a more minimal atmospheric score like the first one which is quite a effective and completely ruined in the theatrical cut with added rock guitar riffs and squeals. In all honesty I was actually quite enjoying the producer's cut up until the big reveal towards the end and then the whole thing just falls apart. 

Here the Thorn stuff comes to the forefront, which is awful and ridiculous, but I do commend them for trying something a bit different I guess. And despite all the gobbledygook, the film is still more consistently put together than the previous film. **

Halloween H20: 20 years Later (1998)

 

AKA Laurie vs. Michael. Here the series shoots up in quality and provides the best sequel.
This one is set 20 years after the first two films events and completely disregards all the sequels that came after it, with Jamie Lee Curtis making a return as Laurie Strode.
The film itself is very enjoyable from start to finish and flies by at a brisk pace. The climactic showdown between Laurie and Michael is great and one of the series best highlights.
It still has its hokey and questionable bits, but for the most part this is a competently well made and executed Slasher. Plus I found LL Cool J playing a security guard that writes erotic fiction rather amusing. ***1/2

Halloween: Resurrection

Here's the series dips down again. It follows on directly from H20 and while the first 10 - 15 minutes are actually pretty good, Busta Rhymes then gets added to the mix and things turn into a farce.
Now I did like the whole Myers house being used for a internet horror show idea and maybe if they had minimized Busta Rhymes to a cameo or took him out completely, the film as a whole would have worked better. But his presence just makes things more comedic feeling and almost like a 'scary movie' parody at times, especially the ending, which I'm sure felt like a spit in the face to long-time fans of the franchise at the time.
Having said that, I didn't take the film all that seriously and actually thought it was pretty fun including Busta Rhymes whole shitck for just feeling bizarre and out of place. Most definitely a product of the early 00's  and honestly more enjoyable than 4, 5 and 6. **1/2

 

The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum (2002 - 2007)

In anticipation for the newest Bourne film, I decided to watch the first three films for the first time. I was always a little reluctant to watch the series due to the influence the films had in popularising the use of shakycam in modern action cinema, ruining many action sequences for years to come. Despite my doubts though, I did end up really enjoying this films and think they are all very good thrillers.

The Bourne Identity (2002)

I never realised that the first film in the series was not directed by Paul Greengrass, instead we get Doug Liman and hardly any of the shaky handheld aesthetic that dominates later films (hoorah!) . Anyway this is a really well executed thriller, with solid writing, acting and cinematography. I felt like it had a similar tone and vibe to the first mission impossible movie which might be why I liked it so much. Its just a very engaging film, that's well paced and put together with Matt Damon being a very compelling lead. A great start to the franchise. ****


 The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

 With the second film in the series Paul Greengrass takes over, implementing the 'realist' handheld shakycam aesthetic. Now I hate that kind of visual aesthetic, but Paul Greengrass kind of knows what hes doing with it, so it isn't too bad and is barely a distraction in this film . The acting again is really solid with more of the great Brian Cox which is always nice and I really like the way they continue the story from the first one. There's also more action which (shakycam aside) is pretty good overall, though I found the climax a little weak. And there's also a little more character depth that leads to a superb scene before the ending. Overall I thought this was great and the best film in the series, it does lose a bit of steam in the climax, but the scene afterwards more than makes up for it and really ups this films ranking. ****


The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Most people regard this as the best of the series, I however think its the weakest of the three. watching this film I just already started to get tired of the with all this chasing round after Bourne and didn't really get invested until towards the end. I mean it's all solidly made still with the acting, story and action, but I just didn't care much at this point, still the ending is very strong and its still very entertaining, I just feel it doesn't match up as well to the first two.
 

 

Irreversible (2002)

Gaspar Noe's Masterwork, A Chaotic, provocative and purely brilliant film, containing one of the most uncomfortable scenes I've ever watched.
It's reverse narrative is greatly constructed, and the way the camera just floats around, combined with the editing to create the illusion of the film being one seamless take is wonderful. Though it's not exactly the type of film you'd give multiple views, it is still most certainly a great film.
Side note: This film works great as a double bill with Kikujiro, just make sure you watch Irreversible first.
*****