horror
ELM STREET won’t put you to sleep, but doesn’t slice deep
May 9th, 2010
I wasn’t allowed to watch “Freddy” or “Jason” movies growing up, and by the time I watched Krueger on television in the 90s he’d become less nightmarish and more of a self-parody. The 2010 remake promised to bring back the darker tone, and the material certainly provides great possibilities to provoke thoughts and conversations about [...]
Meat Pies and Mean Guys
November 7th, 2008
Sweeney Todd was a fictional character first appearing in penny dreadfuls in 1846. The “Demon Barber of Fleet Street” has seen several incarnations since then, from Stephen Sondheim to most recently Tim Burton’s film adaptation of the musical. The character even transcended fiction and is now an urban legend; while there is no historical account [...]
Appropriacalypse Now
March 19th, 2008
A Review of Doomsday (R)
by Pastor James Harleman
When a movie comes out called Doomsday, it invariably draws ones mind to many other end-of-world films that have graced (or smeared) the silver screen over the last several decades. There are so many creative ways the apocalypse might be ushered in, after all. It could be zombies, [...]
Dear Diary, this movie sucked…
February 21st, 2008
What’s that limping slowly in the distance? Wow, that guy looks half-dead… WAIT! He doesn’t look half dead… he IS dead. So… like, why is he making a movie?
In case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about a character in George Romero’s latest zombie flick, Diary of the Dead. I’m talking about Romero himself.
Okay, I disagree [...]
From Harryhausen to the Handycam: The Beast from 20,000 YouTube Views
January 18th, 2008
A Review of CLOVERFIELD
by Pastor James Harleman
Rated PG-13
Released January 18, 2008
Directed by Matt Reeves
Produced by J.J. Abrams
Rob Hawkins is not having a great evening. His New Yorker friends throw him a surprise going away party as he’s headed for a new job in Japan, but he’s distracted; the girl he recently slept with and is [...]
Third Time’s a DISMEMBERING Charm…
October 3rd, 2007
A Review of “Resident Evil: Extinction” (R)
There is nothing new about the third installment
in the Resident Evil series… though, for avid readers of Cinemagogue, you know that’s not necessarily harsh criticism. Still, while the film is enjoyable for fans of the genre, even I was surprised how unabashedly it borrowed from the themes and style [...]
Monotony, Singleness, & Dating in Shaun of the Dead
February 21st, 2007
One of the greatest chick flicks of all time, Shaun of the Dead is a great romance movie..
With blood. And Zombies. And a lot of laughter… if you’re a little bit twisted. Simon Pegg released Hot Fuzz as his comedy follow-up, and will be the new “Scotty” in J.J. Abrams new Star Trek flick.
It’s interesting [...]
Out of Control
July 28th, 2006
A review of “Final Destination 3″ by James Harleman
One of the first images that greets us in James Wong and Glen Morgan’s third “Final” (?) installment is a merry-go-round. a three-fold metaphor for the franchise, the plot, and the very nature of scary movies. In a movie most will undoubtedly dismiss as vapid, I think [...]
Wooden Jesus
July 28th, 2005
A review of “Constantine” by James Harleman
Starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeaouf, Djimon Hounsou
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Rated R
Ah, Hollywood.
While Hollywood often pillages books, television and comic books for film ideas, voraciously mauling the source material beyond recognition, the process never ceases to amaze me. Particularly in light of recent comic book adaptations that have [...]
The Devil You Know
July 28th, 2003
A review of “The Exorcist”
by James Harleman
Director – William Friedkin
Writer – William Peter Blatty
Ellen Burstyn – Chris MacNeil
Max von Sydow – Father Merrin
Jason Miller – Father Damien Karras
Linda Blair – Regan MacNeil
From a filmmaking perspective, the power of “The Exorcist”, directed by William Friedkin and based on the book by William Peter Blatty, lies not [...]