SciFi/Horror Hall Of Fame (actual)

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It's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts.
Yeah, who cares about the winner? If I nominated movies to win I would nominate The Godfather, The Shining, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and Star Wars for the HoFs.



Videodrome


I still remember when this came out back in 1983. I really wanted to see it, but I was too young to find a way. It then became one of those movies that I never got around to, until I first saw it about a year or two ago. I just finished watching it for the second time, and nothing has changed.

This movie is a little bizarre for my normal taste, but ace director David Cronenberg rarely let's me down. James Woods is the big plus for me. He's one of my favorite actors, and he's at his sleazy best in this. Debbie Harry is another nice bonus. I've had a thing for her since I was a kid, and she gives the second stand-out performance of the movie. This is a really freaky and original movie, that I think was probably ahead of it's time. At less than 90 minutes, it's a very easy watch, and it was an excellent nomination for this Hall of Fame.





The Fly

I used that photo, as to me that's what the film is about...it's about the trust and love that grew between a reclusive, lonely scientist and the woman reporter who at first tricks him to get the story of the century, then bonds with him. Most everyone will focus on the horror elements of The Fly, but it's so much more than just gore.

From the moment the film starts, it pulled me into the story. It felt real, the people (Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis) seemed real and they had real chemistry together. The film stays tightly focused on those two and in that way feels very intimate. By introducing a third character, a love triangle is formed with jealousy at it's center. That love triangle then drives the story, as each characters emotional reaction creates events that furthers the story along. It's brilliantly done and the best film I've seen from David Cronenberg.

With all of its sci fi horror and special effects, it's the humanity that shines through this wonderful film.






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Event Horizon

I had seen this once before, about 15 years ago. I hardly remembered anything. I'd say this is a great, fun-horror-gore film, that takes place on a really cool space ship. To me the ship was the best thing, as there wasn't much of character development or intriguing story lines. People just wonder around this big creepy ship and get killed in gory ways. Actual if you like clever gore, it wasn't to clever, pretty much standard fare. This movie is best taken as fun entertainment...and there's nothing wrong with pop corn fun movies.

I'd give a 5/5 rating for the art design! The ship was cool, especially the rotating hall way and the singularity engine drive which looked like a giant gyroscope. Since this movie first came out those sets have been copied in other sci fi movies. I just wished there was more of a plot and more fleshing out of the main characters.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Alien


What else can be said about this film that hasn't already been said?

This films demands to be seen by anyone who calls themselves a sci/fi fan, or a horror fan. One of the benchmark films, in both genres, Alien is one hell of a nail biting ride from start to finish. The claustrophobic atmosphere adds multiple layers of tension to an already tense situation. Scott only shows us glimpses of the alien here and there, much like the film Jaws. We only see parts of it before it attacks. It hits the nail on the head perfectly for this HOF. A little too perfect because this and The Thing are obvious choices in my book.
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Suspect's Reviews



The Host


This was my second time watching this. I first saw it back when it was released on video, and I think it was the last movie I ever got from a video store. I feel pretty much the same after this viewing.

I would consider this one of the great monster movies. The movie is awesome whenever there is action. I do think the movie would benefit from being about 20 minutes shorter, not that I think that there's anything weak when the monster is off screen, but this movie could have been an all time great thrill ride. It's also a little uneven in tone for me. That may be me being a little picky considering what kind of movie it is, but it's a complaint I often have in all types of movies. All in all I think this is a pretty strong nomination that offers plenty of excitement.




Scott only shows us glimpses of the alien here and there, much like the film Jaws. We only see parts of it before it attacks.
That's why "Alien" (1979) is better than "Aliens" (1986). In "Aliens" we are supposed to believe one woman and a child prevailed where military squad of elite soldiers failed. Also, other than killing off said squad, the aliens (1986) were or appeared to be more sloppy than the alien (1979) plausibly because we didn't see him much.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Videodrome

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t stay around to watch. I just can’t cope with the freaky stuff.”

I felt about this one much like I did about The Fly. It's interesting, until it goes over the top with all the flesh horror, then it just loses me a bit. A very interesting film, though, with some great quotable dialogue.


Sunshine

This was a rewatch. I remember liking this a lot, but I couldn't remember much about it, and I was a little disappointed on rewatching it that it didn't capture my interest as much. It's still a good film, though, but might not place quite as high on my list as I thought it would.


I've got two more to see, The Hidden and Alien (rewatch). I haven't disliked any of the films so far, so ranking them is going to be pretty difficult. There are a couple which I really like, then a whole lot which I like, so it will be a difficult decision to sort those ones. Something will have to go last!




The Hidden

Well not much is hidden there What I love about these Hofs is that I find movies I had never seen or even heard of. In the 80s I watched every sci fi I could find, but this one escaped me. What an entertaining, never boring, interesting film. I love that this film reeks of the 80s...in a good way. If it was made today the director would get high praise for his parody of all things 1980s. I mean we get people listening to 'boom boxes', driving Ferrari's, a 'new wave' soundtrack and all those 80's fashions, like that red dress!

There's a lot of gun play and people drop like flies but it's never overly violent or sadistic. Best of all this film has a sense of humor. I loved how the 'hidden' alien loved to rock out to obscure 80s rock/pop music but flies into a range when country music is played! Never a dull moment in this one. Glad I watched it.




Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Watched The Hidden. Enjoyed it. I've always suspected
WARNING: "The Hidden" spoilers below
Kyle MacLachlan was an alien.


I think that's all the films, although I do still want to rewatch Alien. I think this has been the most enjoyable hall of fame yet, both in terms of it having fun movies and lacking any kind of drama from the participants!

I feel like I haven't really had much to say about all these films, but they've all been pretty good. It'll be a tough job ordering them.



A system of cells interlinked
The Hidden is a fun flick! I like some of the music, as well.
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Event Horizon


The set in outer space movies continue to be a problem for me, with the exception of Alien. I actually very much enjoyed the first 25 minutes of the movie until they arrived at Event Horizon, and from there it felt very average. The story was fine but it just seemed like I had seen the content many times before. Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne have both done better work, but they're both actors that I like so that helped. The guy who looks like Eddie Murphy was terrible and almost single-handedly ruined the movie. I had almost watched this a few times before but ended up passing. I thought it was a decent watch overall but I wouldn't watch it again.

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