A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Genre

Horror

Director

Chuck Russell

Country

USA

Cast

Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Patricia Arquette, Robert Englund, Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman, Jennifer Rybin, Bradley Gregg, Ira Heiden, Laurence Fishburne, Penelope Sudrow, John Saxon, Priscilla Pointer, Clayton Landey, Brooke Bundy, Nan Martin, John Saxon

Storyline

Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), the first survivor of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), has now grown up and become a psychiatrist specializing in dream therapy, and will try to teach a group of survivors how to control their own dreams.

Opinion

After the disappointing to say the least "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge", I wasn't expecting anything good from the franchise. Just another stupid slasher film. But I guess Freddy was so not happy about that film, and to avoid to make him even more mad, the filmmakers decided to make "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors", a film that not only is fun to watch, but it's also the sequel the original film deserves.

Once again, what make this entry so good is the story. It is quite original, gripping and the idea of setting it in a mental hospital is definitely a winner as it makes the film even more creepy. And even though it is more of a fantasy than a horror element, I really liked the way the new kids fight Freddy, which is using the special powers they have in their dreams. 

Another positive note is the characters. First of all, it's really nice to see Nancy again. She was the first to ever defeat Krueger as well as a very likable character, and she has an important role in the story. The new kids are interesting, they all get enough screen time and you can definitely feel sympathy for them. 

Chuck Russell's direction is another nice addition to the film. Sure, he's not Wes Craven but he does a quite good job and the atmosphere in the dream sequences is spot on. But truth to be told, the film could have been more scary. Actually, it isn't that frightening, there are just a few scares.

As for the acting, it isn't bad. Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund and John Saxon all reprises their roles and are as good as they were in the first film, and among the kids there's young Patricia Arquette who does a good job in her first important role. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Halloween Edition: Creature/Monster Features

Welcome to Thursday Movie Picks, a weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where each Thursday you have to pick three films to match the week's topic.

Welcome to another Halloween themed week that is all about weird creatures and monsters. There's one rule though, they can't be aliens, vampires, zombies or werewolves. Does it make any harder to pick three films? Not at all, because it's plenty of cinematic monsters and today I've picked three of my favourites, all coming from the horror world. Here they are:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Nancy and her friends are haunted by Freddy Krueger, a serial killer that goes around killing people in their dreams. I'm pretty sure you know who the monster is here, but just in case you don't, he is ugly, wears a red and black striped pullover and has blades instead of fingers. Yep, it's Freddy. And unlike most slasher, this film is also creepy and very effective.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Set in Spain during WWII, young Ofelia "discovers" a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to save herself and her mother. Nope, the faun isn't the monster, but the pale man is, an horrible creature capable of horrible things. Just don't eat his food. And kudos to del Toro for making this. 

Cloverfield (2008)

During a party, lights go out and the ground begins to shake. Having no idea of what is going on, a group of friends leave the apartment and tries to stay safe. Kind of. Who's making all that mess and eventually behead the Statue of Liberty? A cool monster that comes from only god knows where. And now that I think about it, it could be an alien. Nah, it's definitely a monster. Like Godzilla. 

The Skin I Live In (2011)

Original Title

La piel que habito

Genre

Drama | Thriller

Director

Pedro Almodóvar

Country

Spain

Cast

Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Roberto Álamo, Blanca Suárez, Susi Sánchez, Bárbara Lennie, Eduard Fernández, Concha Buika

Storyline

Dr. Roberto Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) tries to create a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage and his guinea pig is a mysterious and volatile woman (Elena Anaya) who holds the key to his obsession.

Opinion

If there is something we can all agree about is that Pedro Almodóvar has a unique style and one either loves or hates him. He explores subjects many may fear, and with "The Skin I Live In" he makes no difference. The film indeed is an unsettling, disturbing yet delightful combination of drama, thriller and body horror. If I had to summarize it in a few words I'd say it is beautifully horrifying.

Trying not to give away much of it because the less you know about it before watching it, the more intense the experience will be, the story is a stroke of genius. The plot not only moves on several timeframes thus being non-linear, but it is also told through the eyes of different characters that allows the viewer to have feelings for some of them.

The film flows perfectly, and, in a succession of ambiguity, anguish, horror and gore, the Spanish director assembles each piace of the plot with such a surgical precision, it ends up being a fascinating puzzle.

Spoiler alert, "The Skin I Live In" is a successful change of genre that explores the theme of sexual identity and what it is like to live in a body that you don't recognize as your own arguably in the best way ever. It also explores the nature and the violation of moral code, and some of Almodóvar's typical themes such as love, the relationship between man and woman and the past still lived as it was the present.

Even though I've never been a fan of him, it's good to see Antonio Banderas working with Almodóvar again, and he delivers a wonderful performance. Frankly, I didn't think he was capable to pull off such a complex and difficult character. However, Elena Anaya completely steals the show as Vera, the mysterious woman held captive by Bander's character. Her eyes are so expressive and emotional, she doesn't even need to talk.

Your Highness (2011)

Genre

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Director

David Gordon Green

Country

USA

Cast

Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, Toby Jones, Damian Lewis, Rasmus Hardiker, Simon Farnaby, Deobia Oparei, Charles Dance, John Fricker, Matyelok Gibbs, Charles Shaughnessy, Rhian Sugden, Amii Grove

Storyline

When Prince Fabious's (James Franco) bride (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped, he goes on a quest to rescue her accompanied by his lazy useless brother Thadeous (Danny McBride).

Opinion

I certainly wasn't expecting an Oscar worthy picture here, but I figured this to be one of those films you still enjoy no matter how stupid they are. And I was right, about the last part only though because "Your Highness" is pretty dumb but not so funny and overall it fails to entertain.

The film is a parody of medieval/fantasy movies which is the reason why I decided to give it a try. But with the plot comes the first problem. I get the writers' intention to write something that wouldn't have the viewer think about it for hours and hours after the film is over, because they really gave no weight to the storyline. I'm not complaining about that. What I'm complaining about is how tedious the whole thing ended up.

I am not sure what exactly went wrong, or maybe I do. It was probably the humour. Most of the jokes fall flat and are the regular fart and stornes jokes that have been used over and over again. Occasionally, there are some jokes that work, but they are so little they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. What the filmmakers should have realised before making this is that profanities and stupid jokes aren't enough to make a medieval movie funny.

A positive note is that the film is full of action and special effects which aren't bad at all. Also the fantasy elements are treated "seriously" and if it wasn't for the poor humour, the film would have totally be a winner.

Next up there's the cast who unfortunately cannot save the film. Danny McBride does his best and does provide some laughs, but he alone is not enough to make up for the script. On the other hand we have James Franco, who should be ashamed of himself for the performance he gives here. I loved him in "Pineapple Express" but this time he just doesn't seem to work. And among many famous names that really made me wonder what the hell they were doing in the film - Damian Lewis, Charles Dance -, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel stand out for being just the pretty girls.