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The Fly (1986)
Director: David Cronenberg
I didn't like Scanners or Videodrome that much, and thought The Dead Zone was mediocre aside from Walken's performance. I guess I'm not as goo goo over David Cronenberg as some others. I thought The Fly was the best work I've seen him do.
The effects were great, especially the scene where Brundle-fly punches a door frame into shreds of wood. It had an intensity and classic monster movie feel where you could sense a respectful homage was being paid, as well as some innovation in its own right for being a remake. Geena Davis does great work with her innocent porcelain face combined with a street smart "no nonsense" demeanor. She's short in the beginning, almost arrogant, but soon warms up to Goldblum's not quite cracked scientist charm.
Jeff Goldblum isn't the most attractive man, and that makes him perfect to play the housefly man mutant. His ghoulish stare and frazzled curly black hair takes to shadow in a most unflattering way, and that can make him seem scary. He's also built like a brick ***** house so that makes him physically threatening.
The story felt even, and the editing allowed this to happen, which I appreciated, as the ending kind of just lets the climax evaporate into the credit roll, just like an old movie would and should.
I also liked the relationship of pinching a baby's cheek to the abundance of flesh and how it makes people crazy. Interesting and a bit unsettling at once.
Director: David Cronenberg
I didn't like Scanners or Videodrome that much, and thought The Dead Zone was mediocre aside from Walken's performance. I guess I'm not as goo goo over David Cronenberg as some others. I thought The Fly was the best work I've seen him do.
The effects were great, especially the scene where Brundle-fly punches a door frame into shreds of wood. It had an intensity and classic monster movie feel where you could sense a respectful homage was being paid, as well as some innovation in its own right for being a remake. Geena Davis does great work with her innocent porcelain face combined with a street smart "no nonsense" demeanor. She's short in the beginning, almost arrogant, but soon warms up to Goldblum's not quite cracked scientist charm.
Jeff Goldblum isn't the most attractive man, and that makes him perfect to play the housefly man mutant. His ghoulish stare and frazzled curly black hair takes to shadow in a most unflattering way, and that can make him seem scary. He's also built like a brick ***** house so that makes him physically threatening.
The story felt even, and the editing allowed this to happen, which I appreciated, as the ending kind of just lets the climax evaporate into the credit roll, just like an old movie would and should.
I also liked the relationship of pinching a baby's cheek to the abundance of flesh and how it makes people crazy. Interesting and a bit unsettling at once.