Cliff Note Reviews is an ongoing series where I briefly state my thoughts on recent films I've watched but don't have the desire to create a full review surrounding. Short and to the point opinions on films that might make decent weekend watchers when you have nothing else to do, films to completely stay away from, and occasionally a few highly recommended films that I simply don't feel need to be given a full review due to already overexposure.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 (2010)
While most people have felt the Harry Potter series "just keeps on getting better", my opinon has been quite the opposite, I've thought the series has significantly gotten "stuffier"! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was a series low for me with almost no action and a lot of childish love triangles, thankfully Deathly Hollows: Part 1 drags the series out of the mud and picks things up a bit. Still it's nowhere near as entertaining as the first couple of entries into the series. It's blatantly clear splitting the final book into two, two and a half hours films was one last greedy money grab to double profits as frankly there isn't enough meat on the bone in Part 1 to warrant such a long run-time, and that's clearly evident by a lot of dragged out dialog scenes, blank stare sessions and landscape shots. Still it's all an improvement over the angst teenage "twilight" drama of the previous episode, but like the last half of the series probably not something I'll ever want to sit through again. 7/10
Lifeforce (1985)
A unique spin on a plot that was probably played out even in 1985. Lifeforce attempts to give "new life" to the vampire genre by giving it a science fiction spin. The idea is interesting for a while, the special effects hold up remarkably well today, and Mathilda May walking around naked for almost the entire film definitely doesn't hurt the eyes, but after 45 minutes it all quickly mashes into simply a bizarre mash up between a vampire/alien invasion that still doesn't offer anything new to either genre. Patrick Stewart is sorely underused, and would have easily boosted the enjoyment factor of this film if he hadn't been thrown in that the end and given only five minutes, and I would have been more interested in seeing the film taken place solely in space, instead of turning into an alien vampire attack on Britain. 6/10
When Ouija boards attack! Witchboard is a boarder-line "so bad, it's good" film, which ultimately means for a B-movie horror film it's okay. The combination of the ridiculous plot, tremendous over acting by everyone involved and the beautiful redheaded Tawny Kitaen make it a viable Friday night film worth laughing over. How this ended up spawning two sequels in the early 1990's (and surprise, surprise a remake is currently in the works) I'll never understand, I can only imagine how awful the sequels are, and probably not even cheesy awful. There's so many far superior 1980's horror films out there this one is for the enthusiasts who simply can never have enough campy horror or people looking to relive some teenage memories. 5/10
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