HIGH FIDELITY, THE CHASE, THE SHINING, SWIMFAN, and TEEN WOLF TOO (Short Reviews by Jesse)

High Fidelity

Jesse's Rating: B+ 

        A wonderful film set in the city of Chicago. The story follows record store owner Rob Gordon (John Cusack) examining his love life through hipster music and not so fond memories of past girlfriends.  It's got great quotes and star making performances, notably Jack Black as Barry, the ultimate record store snob. Top 5 reasons to see this movie:  you only need one, it's just plain entertaining.

The Chase

Jesse's Rating: B

        It's cheesy good.  A car chase movie with Hollywood bad boy Sheen escaping from prison and leading a barrage of cop cars, helicopters and tv cameras all across the state of California. The movie is simple, good fun with a kooky cast of characters. It moves by at a breakneck pace. Trust me, it's a forgettable film but never boring. Highlight: Sheen's character, Jack Hammond, takes a girl hostage by using a Butterfinger candy bar as a gun. 

The Shining

Jesse's Rating: B+

        In 1980, director Stanley Kubrick decided to make a horror film based on a Stephen King novel. The result is perhaps what I like to think, the first true epic horror film. Clocking in at 144 minutes, there's a lot to examine. It's about a family that takes care of a haunted hotel in snowy Boulder, Colorado. The more you watch this film, the more you realize that the camera loves Jack Nicholson and he loves it right back. He plays the caretaker Jack Torrence, whose insanity slowly splashes all over the screen. Heeeerree's Johnny! Amen.

Swimfan Jesse's Rating: C         If there was ever a ripoff of the classic movie Fatal Attraction this would be it. All you gotta do is change the characters from adults to high school kids. Young swim star Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) is being obsessed over by lovesick clingy high school girl (Erika Christensen as Madison Bell). Things turn ugly (Glen Close style) and what you get is the ultimate camp flick. Notice I didn't say camp classic. Yeah, it's entertaining in spots but scenes are not believable enough. Almost nothing that happens in this film is realistic or plausible. Thumbs down by a nudge. Teen Wolf Too Jesse's Rating: C-         Let me just start by saying that Jason Bateman is a terrific comedic actor. He seems to get better with every movie. In the last ten years he has become the ultimate Hollywood comeback story. In the early 2000's I almost forgot him.  But he's going strong now. With that being said, it's absurd to think that back in 1987, he actually agreed to do a sequel that's this awful. The original Teen Wolf was good but it was no masterpiece. Part 2 finds Scott's Howard cousin Todd Howard (Bateman) as another family member with the "wolf out" complex. It's basically a retread of the first movie with less appeal and a weaker cast. You know things are bad when you have almost a completely different set of actors than the first movie.  This movie's got straight to video written all over it. The only problem is, back then, I don't think it existed. Written by Jesse Burleson