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Film & TV on DVD - John Doe News & Reviews

Greetings Film Fiends and welcome to John Doe's Film Blog. 30 years of dedicated celluloid obsession has meant that I have seen a few films. Drawing attention to some of the lesser discussed gems that I love. Cult classics, obscure curios and quality genre pictures. This blogs purpose is to translate some of my passion for these films and with luck, inspire you the reader to go check em out.

Science Fiction Thriller - Film & TV on DVD

The Twilight Zone: Seasons 1 to 5 (1959 – 1964)

July 18th 2008 00:05

Take A Leap of Intellectual Faith.

Each Season available individually in Australia. Box Set available on amazon.com

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone” – Rod Serling

Omnipetent Lord Rod Serling

The Twilight Zone is the classic sci-fi anthology series that opened fervent minds and fed ravenous imaginations. Designed to twist consciousness, confronting audiences in the 1950’s and 60’s now it stands as a monument of inventiveness.

Premiering on network television in 1959 The Twilight Zone was the brainchild of former pugilist and WWII paratrooper turned television playwright Rod Serling (Planet of the Apes, Seven Days in May). Serving as your host to an alternate dimension Serling carried psychological and physical battle scars, sharing his own complex existence on the page by penning 92 of the 156 episodes made.

Rod Serling opens The Twilight Zone

Demanding the viewer think about philosophical and sociological conundrums very much a part of our own real world. Seldom venturing into space, most of the stories take place on Earth in the mid 20th century, the same time as production.

Upon release it was never the ratings bonanza that its prestigious vintage suggests, in fact it was cancelled twice. Reworked and adapted numerous times since inception each stand alone 27 minute tale seems to have become the foundation for endless streams of movies, books and television series.

William Shatner in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and other classics

John Doe says:
An elixir for inquisitive minds, watching the show in reruns as a child triggered an explosion of fresh brain cell activity, leaving young Doe obsessing over each episode’s riddles until the following week’s surreal injection. (The Outer Limits also deserves a mention here)

Shot in moody black and white, the stylistic tone shifts from bleak to magical, macabre to spiritual and between many other adjectives. What’s amazing is the sneaky optimism that sometimes shrouds the revelations in each slight of hand conclusion. There is a soothsayer quality in the subject matter that often makes the show truly prophetic.

Attracting a varied cavalcade of talent in front and behind the camera, Serling’s, regular writing collaborators included Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, Duel) and Charles Beaumont (The 7 Faces of Dr Lao).

Commanding the set as Directors were names like Richard Donner (Superman, Goonies, Omen, Lethal Weapon), Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Killers, Dirty Harry) Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke, The Amityville Horror) Lamont Johnson (The Ground Star Conspiracy), Jack Smight (Harper) and Elliot Silverstein. (A Man Called Horse)

Future stars and respected character actors are frequently centre stage. A few personal highlights: Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen, Point Blank), Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch, Two Lane Blacktop) Cliff Robertson (Spiderman, Three Days of The Condor), Burgess Meredith, (Rocky, The Penguin on Batman) Jack Klugman, (Quincy) William Shatner (Boston Legal, Star Trek) and Martin Landau (Ed Wood, Mission Impossible).

Selecting an outright favourite episode is as futile as the ability to see your own unchangeable destiny. As a kid JD procrastinated on The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, now again he finds himself doing the same. A study of the human races primal destructive mechanism that dwells on our evolved reliance on technology to keep suburban packs civilized.

The pot boiling Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Also from Season 1 Mirror Image stands out. It’s all about a smart, independent woman (Vera Miles) who is either going insane or has an identical counterpart ghosting her as she waits in a bus station.

From Season 4, He’s Alive starring Dennis Hopper as a needy extremist NAZI who gets an audience also seems to be wedged between the gray matter.

To Serve Man arrives in Season 2, Aliens come to Earth and promise peace and a sharing of ideas and technology. Hoping to better comprehend the visitors intentions a linguist attempts to translate their language using a book that could be titled “To Serve Man”.

Hail the opening 10 minutes of "To Serve Man"

Johnny was taken by surprise when he revisited Season 1 on DVD. Firstly the much parodied memorable opening score is nowhere to be seen until the following year. Watching each new series in succession you notice that Rod Serling’s enchanting monologue alters annually, becoming shorter, punchier.

All preconceptions of golden age quaintness were removed the instant the disc glided into the player at 1Am on a Saturday night. Every yarn dealing with timeless issues, many of the morality themes more prevalent today than the era they originally catered for. Some of the more confronting concepts may have been more richly mined since, but still the intelligent simplicity, economic telling and resonating effect remain as admirable and powerful as ever.

Now if only Rod Serling’s gothic and ghoulish counterpart Night Gallery can get a release.

A Top 20 compilation compiled by a diligent Twilight Zone fan

Plummett with the opening 10 minutes of a Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

Steal a glimpse at Time Enough

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Posted By: JohnDoe - Category: Science Fiction, Television, Thriller

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The Mist (2007) - Trailer Included

April 22nd 2008 23:57

The Unseen Villiany Within

The Mist is due to be released on DVD in Australia on the 19th of June

Writer/Director: Frank Darabont
Based on the Novella by: Stephen King
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, William Sadler, Sam Witwer, Toby Jones, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, David Jensen

“As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?” - Ollie

Stephen King is one of the most prolific writers of any era. He has penned in excess of 50 novels that have in turn been translated into more than 75 movies, TV Shows and mini series. Not counting his excursions into drama (Eg: Hearts in Atlantis, Stand By Me) most of his Horror/Thrillers have been mediocre at best. There have been three cinema adaptations that are masterpieces, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone and Brian De Palma’s Carrie. Several mediocre efforts that hold some merit like John Carpenter's Christine, Rob Reiner’s Misery and Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil. For the most part sadly the majority of celluloid excursions have wasted opportunities and ended up sub par or worse as downright trash.

Hitting cinemas last year, The Mist is a supernatural horror film that can proudly become the fourth exercise in terror to be confidently deemed a cinema gem. Based on a novella from The Skeleton Crew it’s taut, disturbing and painfully clever. This is a journey into nerve wracking trembles spearheaded by humanity’s destructive reaction to fear of the unknown.
“I can't accept that. People are basically good; decent. My god, David, we're a civilized society.” – Amanda

A lazy synopsises would be that it’s the Cube and Lord of the Flies cross bred or is that in bred with a traditional Twilight Zone monster movie. It’s not John Doe’s style to be lazy though, hence the 100 plus words before he even gets around to discussing the film in question. So here is a brief introduction to this tale that hopefully remains spoiler free.
“The end of times has come. Not in flames, but in mist.” – Mrs Carmody

David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is a movie poster artist, as the camera focuses on him working the nods to the stories original author and the tone of the film are immediately present. David is presently painting illustrating a film version of the Gun Slinger, part of King’s Dark Tower western trilogy. As a violent electrical storm rages lightning flashes revealing that on the walls are posters for John Carpenter’s The Thing and The Fog.
“Now listen people. We are experiencing some kind of disaster. I don't know whether it's man-made or natural, but I do know that it's definitely not supernatural. Or biblical. And no offense Mrs. Carmody, but the only way we're going to help ourselves is to seek rescue. We're going out.” - Brent

Abandoning his work as nature’s fury is unleashed, Drayton takes his family into the basement as a massive tree is uprooted and shatters the window where he was seated only moments earlier.

The next day all his calm, a heavy mist sits at the foothills of the surrounding lake. An olive branch is offered to Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), his obnoxious lawyer neighbour and so David, his young son Billy and Brent drive into town to get supplies to repair the damage to their respective houses.

En route police and army vehicles blast by towards a mysterious military science base known as Arrowhead located in the mountains just outside of the sleepy town in Maine. The subject of gossip and folk lore little is known about the experimental compound and unconcerned the trio continue onto the local hardware store.

Once inside more activity erupts as a frantic man bursts into the confines of the warehouse store with a bleeding nose. Startling the customers with claims of his companions swift and unseen fatal encounter within The Mist….suddenly an air raid siren blares and the threatening mist engulfs the shop….it begins.
“It appears we may have a problem of some magnitude.” – Bud Brown

I have a bad feeling about this

John Doe says:
So you don’t get the wrong impression, this film does have faults. It’s not perfect and the first half an hour misleads you into believing it’s just another “B” grade horror. It’s easy to settle into believing that you are in for a dose of enjoyable schlock entertainment.

The early FX shots are a little on the tongue in cheek side, but all that changes once its true purpose is revealed. The velocity increases and a claustrophobic study of the fundamentals of a clawing paranoia and desperation emerge. Comparisons to The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers are much more appropriate.

Misconceptions are abruptly removed when suddenly the tension snowballs, the terrifying special effects improve and importantly you become invested in the plight of these trapped characters. By the time the story hits its apex there are few equals to its superior visuals and heart exploding suspense. There is the imminent doom and cold menace of a great white shark rolling it eyes into the back of its head for an inevitable attack.

Now is probably a good time to mention how much JD despised Writer/Director Frank Darabont until this point in his career. He was a man who even managed to bleed any sense of menace or danger from prison (The Shawshank Redemption) and like Spielberg had a saccharine quality to his work that left me repulsed for all the wrong reasons.

In The Mist Darabont’s knowledge of cinema language and deft audience manipulation finally becomes apparent. There is a restrained expertise in the staging and pacing. Cleverly minimising the soundtrack, don’t expect to be warned in advance of impending destruction here. The minimal score is supported by unpolished cinematography that frames shots for maximum impact and urgent editing from the technical team behind The Shield. The result is a social commentary of realism that is inescapable, a tone that salutes the dense atmosphere of his inspirations.

Best of all the film follows through on its pitch dark promises with a finale of such melancholy devastation that Johnny refuse to discuss it with those who have not yet witnessed it for themselves.

The script tightens and the imaginative FX accelerates as each scene proceeds, it’s akin to bamboo shoots up the fingers nails. None of these peripherals would coagulate without the dedication of the cast who are committed to convincing us this is all really happening.

Thomas Jane (Thursday, The Velocity of Gary) backs up his charismatic performance in the under seen real life cop thriller Stander and scene stealing turn in Boogie Nights. You believe his on-screen intelligence and obsessive survival instincts.

Marcia Gay Harden (The Dead Girl) is truly repulsive as the religious zealot all to eager to believe in Gods blood thirsty desires. Inspiring such hatred in the pit of your stomach that it’s hard not to reach into the screen and throttle her. This is a fearless performance that embraces the pack mentality with a fervour that should be rewarded.

All the players including William Sadler, David Jensen and Andre Braugher excel in there parts.

Johnny D loves being surprised by films and when he saw the trailer for this, frankly it looked derivative and judged it to be a poor mans version of The Fog. How wrong he was. Under estimation can sometimes lead to excitement, it wasn’t until about half way through that he realised he had read the original novella, but this didn’t detract from the shocks that the film offered.

The DVD release will have both the original version and also Darabont’s intended cut that is black and white, which I can only imaging adds another level to the creepy feel. So next time your looking for a frightfest on a rainy night, switch all the lights out and prepare for some quality chills in The Mist.

If you would like find out some of the stories secrets, then visit Bryn’s brilliant review over on horrorphile.net

Spoiler Warning - The trailer for the Mist that hints at where the story goes.

Frank Darabont introduces his Black and White version that will be available on the DVD edition.

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Posted By: JohnDoe - Category: Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror

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eXistenZ (1999)

February 18th 2008 00:01

The sins of Virtual Reality.

Disclaimer:Taking advantage of eXistenZ structure is an opportunity to mix up John Doe's established reviewing format for this one.

eXistenZ - Available on DVD in Australia

Writer/Director:David Cronenberg
Starring:Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Christopher Eccleston, Don McKellar

"I'm feeling a little disconnected from my real life. I'm kinda losing touch with the texture of it. You know what I mean? I actually think there is an element of psychosis involved here. "- Ted

David Cronenberg’s intellectual science fiction thriller eXistenZ takes Phillip K Dick’s novel of existentialist addiction “The Three Stigmata” into an alternate technological reality. It’s a world, within a world, within a world scenario.

Commenting on our insatiable desire to escape reality through reliance on artificial stimuli, the lust to purge our real selves through video games and act out the alternate persona that we adopt has been established.
"Free will... is obviously not a big factor in this little world of ours." - Ted

Within the story, eXistenZ refers to the latest breakthrough X Box or Play-Station style gaming platform. It is an organic machine that must violate the flesh for the user to achieve illusionary bliss from danger and adventure. In order to play the system jacks don’t plug into a television or monitor it is inserted directly into the base of the human spinal chord.

Game On

A small group has gathered for an early beta test of the unit, its creator Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is there to participate in the initial journey and together with some eager volunteers begins to boot up.

Quickly an assassination attempt is made on Allegra and corporate espionage is behind it. In the alternate dimension, assisted by promotions man Ted Pikul (Jude Law) she flees and the pair soon discovers the secret to survival lies in unravelling the purpose of their computer generated mission.
"Death to the demoness Allegra Geller!" - Repeated line

Techno Menage a Trois

These two central figures are supported by the remainder of the players each with their own programmed guiding principles. Commenting on the insular nature of society, peripherals remain mute until an appropriately phrased trigger elicits a response.
"It's your character who said it. It's kind of a schizophrenic feeling isn't it? You'll get use to it. There are things that have to be said to advance the plot and establish the characters, and those things get said whether you want to say them or not. Don't fight it. Just avoid it." - Allegra

Praying on the subconscious, real life character morality slips away, replaced in favour of an adaptive game part less concerned with consequences. Primal urges are unrestricted once the rules of play are processed, murder and sex are flippantly embraced for quasi-liberation.

Overly stimulated, hyper realism causes disorientation, the deeper into the web of projected reality they plummet the more the lines between truth and fiction are blurred.
"It's worse than that. I'm not sure... I'm not sure here, where we are, is real at all. This feels like a game to me. And you, you're beginning to feel a bit like a game character." - Ted

David Cronenberg’s (Scanners, Dead Ringers, Rabid, Shivers, Naked Lunch) screenplay shares many thematic and narrative similarities to his earlier masterwork Videodrome. His usual obsessions being flesh and obtuse human behavioral science etc. Controlling the confusion in an exponentially expanding universe, information is often shared in hindsight. Carefully layering dialogue that encourages dissection. The surface scenarios capitalise on profound behavioural philosophies.

Cronenberg’s regular and Empire Strikes Back cinematographer Peter Suschitzky’s (Naked Lunch, History of Violence, Dead Ringers etc) creates an atmosphere to support the narrative. The deliberate camera angles recreate the mood of RPG, cleverly refraining from any first person shots. The equally conscious tone of colours and light, the organics caught in the lens add to the concept.

The visual and special FX compound the organic versus mechanical motif. The final component in drawing us to believe and muse on this parrel dimensional riddle is the cast.

jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ

It is a point of constant wonder to John Doe why Jennifer Jason Leigh (Last Exit to Brooklyn, Husucker Proxy, Kansas City) is not recognised as the greatest female actress working today. In eXistenZ there is a natural
ease to her demeanour that beautifully contrasts with the constructed reality of the film.

Jude Law (Talented Mr Ripley, Gattaca, Enemy at the Gates) neither detracts nor adds to proceedings, his sometimes wooden delivery seems overtly forced when trying to communicate his characters surrendering to impulse. Still in other scenes there is an appropriately palpable tension in his eyes and body language.

Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die In LA, Shadow of the Vampire, Platoon, Wild at Heart) again embraces his freedom of expression, this time as a duplicitous mechanic with a charismatic air. In most of his work it seems once he finds the core substance of his role in the narrative he experiments liberally and we have the privilege of witnessing it. There is a spontaneity that reflects the game itself here.

All the performers deserve admiration for carrying through the fishing line plot. Open to supposition and interpretation all the answers are there if your willing to look.

JD basks in the engagement of the cerebral cortex in order to fully comprehend the story. The suspenseful intricacies and intelligent conceits are not merely devices but tools for understanding our own microcosm. How we interact, our nurtured existence within a culture that curtails our primal side in the name of civilization. How would we behave without the morality programmed by parents, media and government?

eXistenz - The Trailer