Saturday, January 29, 2011

Porkys, Porkys II,and Porkys Revenge


I picked up this collection back in 2008,and it was only $9 bucks. It includes all three films. The first one is a new edition which includes a director's commentary,two short behind the scenes/looking back style featurettes,and a promo reel for the "Porky's" Atari 2600 game.

"Porkys"

Growing up in the early 80's,"Porkys" was a film that was talked about all the time on the playground at elementary school. Since we lived in an area that didn't have access to cable I didn't get a chance to see it. Then sometime in 1988 my parents rented it for our Betamax VCR. Well later that week the went to their bowling league. And while they were gone I called up all my friends and told them to come over. We all sat down and watched the film that we had heard so much about. While I found the movie extremely funny back then,it has become even funnier as I got older and understood more of the plot. This was the start of the trend of raunchy teen comedies. And you can see were this film influenced the creator's of "American Pie". I re watched this the other day while I wasn't feel good. And once it got to the scene in the Principal's office,in which Ms. Balbricker is asking for a police lineup of naked high schoolers I was laughing so hard my ribs were hurting. "Porkys" is still one of my favorite comedies and gets a A.

"Porkys II the next day"

This came out the year after the first one was released. It was rushed into production when it became obvious how big a hit the original was. This one I had seen for many many years in edited for TV cuts on cable. But until I got the DVD I had never seen it uncut. Well it has been said that this is a horrible sequel. And I think it is cause this one is less a raunchy teen comedy and more of a teen comedy mixed with a social message drama. And again it has a scene that had me laughing so hard my sides hurt and I had trouble breathing. It is the scene right after the guys leave Pee Wee in the graveyard. And the drunk guy who is done up like a zombie,He comes walking out into the road and is almost hit by the police car. He keeps going "BOOGIE BOOGIE" and for some reason this always makes me laugh. "Porkys II the next day" gets a B.

"Porky's Revenge"

Released 2 years after "Porky's II" this is the only film in the series to not have been written or directed by the late great Bob Clark. I thought I had seen this before. But after viewing it the other day I realized I had never seen it before. It does go back to the level of raunchiness that the original had. And it has the best looking female cast of all three of the films. Plus you get the return of Porky,who was strangely absent for the second film. But all of that still doesn't keep this from being the worst of the series. Plus by this time the main cast looked to be in their late 30s and it is kinda hard to accept them as high school seniors. And a few of the guys from the previous two don't return and no reason is given in the film as to why. "Porky's Revenge" gets a solid B-.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Darkness Falls


Darkness Falls

Picked this DVD up last year at a yard sale. I had never heard much about it,but it was only 50 cents so I took a chance. Big mistake. Set in the town of Darkness Falls,it seems there is a local legend about the Tooth Fairy. She comes and collects kid's teeth,but if you happen to see her she will kill you. Movie starts off with a kid who has just lost his last baby tooth,and before he goes to sleep he gets a visit from a the girl next door. Kid goes to sleep,and wakes up hearing some strange noise in his room. He looks up and sees the Tooth fairy,which causes him to scream. His mother runs in and also sees the Tooth Fairy. The Fairy proceeds to kill the mom as the kid runs off and hides in the bathroom. It turns out the Tooth Fairy can't get you if you are in light. The movie cuts to the next morning and the boy is being lead away by cops. And the girl that came to visit him the night before has a very sad look on her face.

Now we jump ahead about 12 years. We see a lady in a hospital and it turns out her younger brother is having problems. He hasn't slept more than 10 minutes in almost a year.The brother has also seen the Tooth Fairy and now refuses to be in the dark. At her wits end the older sister calls the kid from the beginning of the film. Who lives in a room that has multiple lights. He comes to help and tries his best to keep the Tooth Fairy from getting the brother. Well the movie just goes downhill from here. Horrible acting plus a bad script equals one big shit pile of a film. The effects are the only decent part of the film. One thing I did notice is without the credits this film is about 68 minutes long. That has to be one of the shortest big release theatrical films in a long time. Darkness Falls easily earns a D-.