For the Past Away issue, be sure to visit the Count's Morgue. Check back here regularly for regular updates, and come admire our scary scary Awards.
Issue #22 ~ October 30, 1999
This page is dedicated to SCTV and to the best character on that show, in my never humble opinion, played by the scary scary Joe Flaherty.
AAAaawwooo! I bid you....welcome to issue #22 of Count Floyd's Movie News. Well, here we are with the last Halloweenie of the Millennium upon us. (I know, I know, but why fight it).
I know I mentioned this before but I love the smell of smashed pumpkins in the morning. The most appropriate film for the season is The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis. I'm not the biggest Bruce Willis fan but he was good in the Die Hard films. He seems to have this s**t eating grin on his face that I'd like to slap right off of him. Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm not generally a slapper (not that there is anything wrong with that). In this film he did not smirk even once. He even seemed to look more youthful because of it. Willis plays a psychiatrist named Dr. Crowe, who is visited by a very strange former patient of his who he has let down in a big way. Later in the film he meets a bright young boy named Cole Sear, played by Haley Joel Osment, who suffers from a similar affliction that his former patient did. He does not want this new patient to end up the way his former patient did so he tries very hard to understand the boy's problems. The boy claims he can see dead people where others cannot.
The performances of both Bruce Willis and the boy are top notch. The film was written and directed by N. Night Shyamahan. It's not a super scary film but it did give me a few starts. It's a good film and a nice change from all the teenage slasher flicks out there. Check your local listings and if you are lucky enough to find The Sixth Sense playing near you give yourself a treat. Speaking of treats, I think my Halloween black widow spider cookies are burning. I love the smell of burning ... oh forget it. I hope you enjoy the movie news, won't you?
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2, which was due out in theaters this December, has a new start date. The sequel starring Tom Cruise will open during the Memorial Day weekend in the year 2000. The director, John Woo, feels more time is needed for post-production work. John Woo is cool.
LESLIE NIELSEN will star in a space spoof called 2001: A Space Travesty. The film has shot its European locales and is now in Montreal to complete the picture.
THE MARTIN SHORT SHOW has started its run on UPN in Los Angeles. Fans of Martin Short should check their local UPN listings for showtimes. The show will combine sketch comedy and interviews.
SIGOURNEY WEAVER may join the cast of GALAXY QUEST, a space comedy starring Tim Allen. The duo will play heroes in a SCI/FI TV series who are recruited by aliens to save their dying planet.
JURASSIC PARK 3 may begin production in early 2000. Steven Spielberg has finished a storyline and Joe Johnston has been assigned to direct the film.
KEENAN IVORY WAYANS will direct Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween for Dimension Films. The horror spoof will feature Shawn and Marlon Wayans as part of the cast. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who wrote "Spyhard" wrote one script and the Wayans brothers wrote another. Both scripts will be combined by Keenan Ivory Wayans.
In this issue I will write some short critiques of 3 films I've seen on video recently. I will start from the worst and work my towards the not so bad.
First up is Star Trek: Insurrection. This film opens on a planet of serene people who are tending to their crops and apparently leading a simple life. They are being watched by a Federation research team who keep hidden in an invisible building. Mr. Data is among the researchers when he goes berserk and escapes the hidden observation building. Their cover is blown and The Enterprise is called in to corral Data or he will be destroyed. This opening part is fun but the rest of the film goes downhill from there. The movie is directed by Jonathan Frakes who plays Riker to Patrick Stewart's Picard. The film had the quality of an extended TV episode and was not an expansive blockbuster like the earlier Star Trek films used to be. This is Frakes' 2nd try and I say he's out. To save the Star Trek film franchise put the brakes on Frakes.
Next up is South Park -Bigger, Longer and Uncut. I am a huge South Park fan but I felt a little let down by the movie. It concerns the usual gang of kids going to a Terrence and Phillip movie and hearing bad words which they repeat in school. They are sent to the principal's office and their parents are called to pick up the kids. One of the kid's mothers forms a protest group which is similar to what was done in an earlier TV episode of South Park. The film was funny in spots but it lacked the spark the series has. If you are a South Park fan you should probably see it but all others should stay away.
Last but not least is a small budget horror/slasher film called Urban Legend. Since we are in the Halloween season this one would be a good one to rent. It's not a great film, mind you, but it does deliver on a certain level. The film takes place at a small college where people are being murdered one by one. Each murder is done to imitate various urban legends we have heard of over the years. Robert Englund has a cameo as a professor who teaches a class on urban legends and he seems to have had a mysterious past. I understand there will be an Urban Legend 2 coming out soon. Like I said the film is not great but it delivers some chills on a dark and lonely night.
The trivia question from the last issue was "What was the only 3 Stooges movie in which all 3 Howard brothers (Moe, Curly and Shemp) appeared together?" The answer was "Hold That Lion" made in 1947. Congratulations go to Alan, who becomes the new Triviameister of Mellonville for being the first person to answer the trivia question correctly. A big high 5 goes to JandR624 for being the only other person to get the question right.
The new Triviameister asks the following question "The TV movie 'Duel' springboarded director Steven Spielberg to stardom. Scripted by Richard Matheson from his short story, in what famous magazine was the story originally published?" If you are the first person to answer the question correctly you will become the new Triviameister of Mellonville and will have a chance to ask the next trivia question. Click here to answer and good luck to you all.
THE HAUNTED SURVEY
The survey question from the last issue was: "Who is your favorite cinematographer?". The survey SAYS:
- Jan de Bont (Speed, Diehard)
- Adam Greenberg (Rush Hour, Sphere)
- Dean Cundey (Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York)
- Vilmos Szigmund (The Deerhunter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
- Billy Bitzer (Birth of a Nation)
- Bill Butler (Jaws, Rocky 4)
- William Fraker (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Bullitt)
- Greg Toland (Citizen Kane)
- Nestor Almendros (Kramer vs Kramer, Blue Lagoon)
- Gordon Willis (Annie Hall, Godfather 1,2,3)
- Conrad Hall (Cool Hand Luke, Marathon Man)
- Janusz Kaminski (Jurassic Park 2, Schindler's List)
- Harry Stradling Sr (My Fair Lady, The Young Philadelphians)
- Guillermo Navarro (Desperado, From Dusk til Dawn)
What a list of credits. I'm sure many of you have seen and enjoyed most of those films. Many thanks to Alan who provided his expert knowledge in this area. I hope we will be hearing more from him.
The survey question for this issue is:
"What movie would you pick from the above list to be a sentimental favorite?"
For me it would be One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I must have been at that age where films really start to impress you. It was probably the first one to push all the right buttons. Which film from the above list is your sentimental favorite? Press here to answer the survey question.
AAAaawwoooo! Count Floyd will return in the new Millennium in issue #23 titled "From Yeltsin With Belch".
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