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Candyman (DVD)
by k444tmc
As a teenager I was very much into my horror films - I loved scaring myself for some reason... Now that I'm older I am very wary at watching the newer type of horror films as they tend to show too much gore and have completely pointless storylines. However I am partial to watch the odd classic every now and again and I found myself ... watching Candyman last night while doing the household ironing.
Candyman was released in 1992 when I was 5 years old - I didn't actually end up watching it for the first time until I was about 14, but I remember seeing this on a neighbours VHS shelf for years and even though I didnt know at that young age what the film was actually about it felt quite haunting with the eye and the bee on the front cover.
I bought Candyman 1 & 2 on DVD a couple of years ago and today I will be reviewing the first one - where the story began...
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Who is Candyman?
In the three films, Candyman is an urban legend based on a event which had happened 100 years prior.
When Candyman was alive, he was the son of a black slave in developing America as we know it today... However due to his fathers sucess in developing an important invention, Candyman lived a comfortable existance compared to other black skinned people in the community. He also had a talent for art - in particular painting. He is asked to paint a portrait of a young white woman by her father, he then falls in love with this woman and she becomes pregnant by him. When her father finds out what they have done, they start the beginning of Candymans torture. He is chased through the community on the orders of the father and they cut off his hand which he uses for painting and replaces it with a hook... but they don't stop there, they smear him in honey and allow him to get stung to death by a swarm of bees. A young child watching there calls him "candyman" due to him being smeared in the sweet honey. You later find out in the second film that his pregnant lover holds out a mirror which he looks into shortly before he meets his death. I believe this happening means it somehow captured his spirit in mirrors, therefore when a person later chants "candyman" five times into the mirror his spirit will appear and murder anyone in his path.
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The plot
Helen Lyle is a mature graduate student at a Chicago university, conducting a study into urban legends and how people believe in them and use them to explain strange going's on in general life. She then hears about the story of Candyman and how he is known by residents to be responsible for a murder which happened at Cabrini Green - an infamous area of Chicago which has a bad reputation for drugs, gang violence and murder. It turns out Candyman was actually murdered 100 years prior on the site which is now Cabrini Green.
Helen and her best friend, Bernadette travel to Cabrini Green to see the murder scene and try and find out anwsers and talk to the locals where they find the murder they are looking into is just one of a couple blamed by the Candyman. Due to the location of the terrible murders the law enforcement just writes off the murders as black skinned people killing one another and that the Candyman legend is used to scare people.
Helen and Bernadette call in the mirror to Candyman... but does he appear to them? Or is he just an urban legend as they suspected all along? One things for sure, looking for Candyman will change Helens life and those around her...
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My thoughts?
Candyman was released on VHS 20 years ago and in my mind qualifys as a classic just like the Friday 13th and Halloween films due to the age and the content of the film not being like some silly horror film like you see these days. As a child before I even saw the film, we all knew the story of Candyman - being similar to that of Bloody Mary and we all used to shout his name in the mirror just to scare ourselves and see what happens...
The setting for this film, Cabrini Green, was a real life location - some high rise project apartments in Chicago which were demolished due to the same problematic issues that you see in this film - in particular the worst news story I heard about Cabrini Green was when a 9 year old girl - known in the media as Girl X, was kidnapped there, assaulted, raped and poisoned... then left for dead. The girl is still alive today, but she is confined to a wheelchair, blind and unable to speak. To me that tells you about the kind of horrific place where Candyman was filmed and in a twisted way was probably the most perfect setting in Chicago due to the horrible nature of the place. The fact that they used a real life location and used its real life name makes the film a lot more believable.
Unlike many horror films today where you feel no empathy for the bad guy, you do strangely feel some for the Candyman in this film - due to the fact that while he was alive he was normal, and his death was caused by him falling in love with the wrong person - in the beginning he was a normal human being like any of us which makes you sympathise with the charecter even though he is said to carry out these horrible deeds in his death. Tony Todd was perfect for this role in my opinion - he got all the emotions right including the half smile which puts chills through your bones.
In terms of special effects in relation to injurys / gore that you see in the film, it is quite gruesome but as someone who no longer watchs horror films as such it is watchable and like a lot of other films you don't feel the need to turn away and hide!
The storyline is not quite original - there are many others like it, old and new films, but the storyline is great in the way that it rolls out throughout the film.
The theme tune that is played throughout the film, can only be desribed by me as quite sad but haunting at the same time - which is perfect for what is shown in this film. It is a memorable tune which even if you have not seen this film for years you will hear it and instantly recongise it.
The only thing I would of liked to see more of was a bit more depth of the life of Candyman and how he has turned out into this kind of urban legend - there is a flashback to his life and death in the second film but personally it should of been in the first one - just to explain a bit more and because everyone has lost interest by the time a sequal has come out! Would highly recommend to all horror fans - its a classic and a more in depth, serious film compared to the likes of the films today...
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Candyman can be bought from Amazon for £4.99 including free P&P and the further two Candyman films are called Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead.
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Lethal Weapon 3 (DVD)
by Marie234
To start with, this is my first ever film review on Dooyoo so I hope it's good and helpful for the Dooyoo community.
OK, so lets get onto some of the hot stuff!
To start with, I've watched all of the Lethal Weapon films and my personal opinion towards them all would be that they are absolutely fantastic and they are ... definitely thrillers!
But the only one that I have really loved since I first saw it was Lethal Weapon 3 because I think it's got the most action included and it's a lot more thrilling than 1, 2 and 4!
What's Lethal Weapon 3 about?
This all-time thriller is directed by Richard Donner and stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci.
Riggs and Murtaugh are back in yet another thriller called Lethal Weapon 3! This time, they are back to pursue a dangerous arms dealer who was a former L.A.P.D officer.
Lethal Weapon 3 is a 1991 detective thriller starring the one and only Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and the star of all time Danny Glover who plays Roger Murtaugh. Riggs finally meets the love of his life Lorna Cole, a pretty but strong policewoman.
In the film, Riggs and Murtaugh are sent to investigate a suspected bomb in an evacuated building but Riggs decides to disarm the bomb himself but makes it detonate quicker! When the building has blew up Riggs and Murtaugh get demoted back to uniformed officer and have to patrol the streets! While on street patrol, they come across an attempted armored car hijacking which they successfully bring to a halt. Because of there great efforts they both get reinstated back to L.A.P.D Detectives.
Jack Travis then goes to the county lockup using his police identity to gain access. He then executes the other hijacker without knowing he's committed it on camera.
When Riggs and Cole visit the scene to investigate, they immediately identify the killer.
Back at the station, Riggs, Murtaugh and Cole are viewing the video footage when they are interrupted by Leo Getz there old mate. A short while after, Leo manages to recognize Travis and tells them where can be found.
After, the three split up onto the construction site where Leo told them Travis could be found. After a few gunfights, they manage to kill Travis.
That's the basic outline and plot of Lethal Weapon 3!
Why should I purchase Lethal Weapon 3?
There are many great reasons to why you should purchase Lethal Weapon 3 and they are:
1. Lethal Weapon 3 is a fully action packed thriller starring the one and only Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci!
2. There are many different gun fights and physical violence throughout the film.
3. It's quite funny and comical in some scenes of the film but very serious also.
Where can I purchase this amazing film from?
You can purchase this film from Amazon, Ebay and many other internet based selling sites. You can also buy Lethal Weapon 3 from HMV for a whopping £5.00!
This film is definitely worth buying and watching because of it's action packed, spine tingling and thrilling action scenes! For adults who love a good action film!
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Single White Female (DVD)
by GentleGenius
RELEASED: 1992, Cert.18
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 107 mins
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Barbet Schroeder
SCREENPLAY: Don Roos
MUSIC: Howard Shore
MAIN CAST:-
Bridget Fonda as Allie
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Hedy
Steven Weber as Sam
Peter Friedman as Graham
Stephen ... Tobolowsky as Mitch Myerson
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FILM ONLY REVIEW
Based on John Lutz's novel entitled SWF Seeks Same, Single White Female begins in New York where successful computer software designer Allie shares an apartment with Sam, her boyfriend. Problems rise to the surface when it emerges that Sam has slept with his ex-wife. Angry and very hurt, Allie demands that Sam pack his bags and leave, which he reluctantly does after all his efforts to placate her fail.
Not wanting to live alone, Allie advertises in a newspaper for a flatmate. After interviewing several candidates and finding them unsatisfactory for various reasons, she settles for a rather dowdy, somewhat shy yet sweetly pleasant girl called Hedy. Hedy is over the moon at being accepted as Allie's new flatmate, and moves in.
Meanwhile, Allie is having business dealings with a not overly nice, yet financially viable client called Mitch Myerson, and back at the apartment, the phone keeps ringing....Sam is desperately trying to patch things up with Allie.
Before long and gradually, the initially perfect-seeming Hedy begins to display behavioural traits which suggest she perhaps isn't quite as squeaky-clean as she first appeared to be.
That sets the scene....to learn more, hunt out the film to watch for yourself.
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Single White Female is one of these psychological thriller movies of the type where somebody who at first seems an extremely nice person, does an about-turn. There were quite a few of these films released around the same time, with mixed fortunes....some being better than others.
I remember first watching Single White Female shortly after its release, of course hoping it would be good and live up to the standard set by some other then current films from the same genre. I do recall that Single White Female received mixed reviews from the critics, the results appearing to be an "I loved it" or "I hated it" outcome.
I personally find the first part of the film quite interesting. The scene is set, although it is obvious very early on that Hedy has some issues, it thus being easily assumed that she isn't going to turn out to be the 'good guy'. I like the almost seamless transformation where the film gradually moves from an ordinary, everyday setting into a living nightmare as Allie starts to notice that not all is right regarding her new flatmate.
However, once the nasty bits get underway, I personally feel the film travels down some not unrealistic exactly, but possibly far-fetched paths from the point of view of coincidence, coupled with Allie's reactions towards various incidences stemming from Hedy's undesirable behaviour, being a combination of inappropriate and way over the top.
All of the acting in Single White Female is at least adequate, though by no means anywhere near Oscar recommendation standard. It is difficult for me to pick a favourite from the performances, simply because I didn't actually like any of the characters. I see Allie as somebody who is cool, maybe a little snobbish, self-interested and at times unnecessarily churlish. I find the character of Allie's boyfriend Sam to be not unpleasant, but quite shallow, insubstantial and soulless....a 'nice guy' (despite his one-off dalliance with his ex-wife which caused Allie to turf him out of the apartment they shared) whose general disposition emanates little or no depth. Mitch Myerson, Allie's new business associate, quite frankly is a leering, lecherous creep who is about as attractive as an attack of herpes, and the initially sweet, kind-natured Hedy quite frankly is a raving bonkers harridan with an extremely nasty, manipulative disposition. If pushed to choose one single favourite character, I'd veer towards Graham, who is Allie's upstairs neighbour. He is a genial, friendly guy who is fond of Allie together with being very helpful and supportive to her, but for me and similarly to Sam, his personality lacks substance. Purely from an acting point of view, I'd probably - and only marginally - choose Bridget Fonda's portrayal of Allie, as she did oscillate fairly well between displays of coolness, vulnerability and anger, depending on what was happening to her at any given moment.
For me, Single White female is just another run-of-the-mill type psychological thriller that is watchable, but contains nothing which can't be seen in any other film within the same genre. There is one part that did make me smile though, despite humour not being intended, and it's where somebody performs an impulse sexual act on somebody else....I found it a little amusing because of the way it was done, yet did afterwards wonder why there was no visual evidence of the act immediately after it had happened...sorry I can't explain any more, as it would give away too much. If you've seen Single White Female and remember this short scene, you'll know what I mean....if not, then you'll have to watch it yourself.
I do like my psychological thriller films to be tense, high on mystery, creepy around the edges and to contain a clever twist....I'm afraid Single White Female has none of these qualities. As for the 'jump' factor, it only happened to me once during the whole film, and that was at a point where somebody was unravelling a roll of duct tape - I jumped because it was a loud noise!
Single White Female in my opinion, certainly is by no means the best, or anywhere near the best, psychological thriller movie around as there are many others where the suspense levels are much more exciting....I suppose subtlety comes into play here which is what I find this film largely lacks. It's worth a watch, but definitely is not something that succeeds in leaving me moved and scrabbling for more.
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At the time of writing, Single White Female can be purchased on Amazon as follows:-
New: from £2.72 to £9.95
Used: from £1.59 to £6.04
A delivery charge of £1.26 should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
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