Prime Time: Prancer (1989)

If you are going to make a movie about a reindeer that may belong to Santa then you may find yourself in a bit of a quandary. Everyone knows Rudolph, but the bright red nose would be a dead giveaway. The other reindeer all look like normal reindeer, as far as I am aware, but people may not remember the other names. Prancer is a decent choice, paired up with Dancer in the seasonal rhyme. For future reference, the nine reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh are as follows: Rudolph, Prancer, Dancer, Cupid, Stupid, Donna, Blitzkreig Bop, Basher, and Smasher. Thank me later. No need to check those names. That list is absolutely guaranteed to be absolutely correct.

Anyway, this film is about Prancer. Maybe. It’s a reindeer that is wounded, and a young girl (Jessica, played by Rebecca Harrell Tickell) becomes convinced that he is Prancer. Her aim is to get him fit and ready to rejoin Santa by Christmas, which means housing and feeding the animal without her father (Sam Elliott) finding out. She will also be trying to hide her actions from her abrasive brother (John Duda), while enlisting the help of the local vet (Abe Vigoda) and approaching a seemingly grinch-like neighbour (Cloris Leachman) with an offer that will allow her to earn some money for a big bag of food.

Director John Hancock doesn’t have a very memorable filmography, and nor does writer Greg Taylor (although he did later work on the much-loved Jumanji), but I have to say that both men do some great work here. It’s not groundbreaking, and it is completely predictable, but this is a comforting watch, feeling very much like a seasonal special episode of something like The Waltons or Little House On The Prairie.

That’s not to say that all is sweetness and light throughout. Times are tough, very tough, and there’s extra tension, and extra risk for our young lead, when Jessica finds out that her father is planning to send her away to stay with an aunt (played by Rutanya Alda). Hiding a reindeer isn’t likely to get her in the good books, but Jessica considers it to be an invaluable service, not only helping a wounded animal, but also ensuring that Christmas goes ahead as planned.

The cast all do a very good job, and make the film much better than it otherwise would have been. Tickell is a well-rounded young girl, as swift to pout and sulk as she is to widen her eyes and plead for help. She’s very cute, but also has moments of entertaining cheek/meanness (a highlight being the scene in which she believes she has been betrayed by her friend, played by Ariana Richards). Elliott has a strong fanbase for good reason, and he’s very good as the strained father who doesn’t realise why his children cannot understand his pragmatic way of dealing with the harsh reality threatening their home and way of life. Duda is enjoyably irritating, from his snide insults to his ear jewelry, but he gets to improve a lot in time for the grand finale. Then you have the mighty Vigoda and Leachman, both giving wonderful little turns in their respective roles, and both allowed to show how our lead helps to soften their sharp edges and turn those frowns upside-down. Alda does well enough in her small role, and eagle-eyed viewers will spot a very brief turn from Johnny Galecki.

Technically, nothing really stands out. The score from Maurice Jarre is pleasant enough, although not that memorable, and there’s sparing use of special effects implying those little moments of Yuletide magic that are often accompanied by a twinkly sound effect. This is all about the gentle joy of a talented cast helping to deliver a tale that effectively mixes some good humour (special mention of the sequence that has Elliott constantly just missing the sight of the reindeer walking around his property) with a lot of heart.

I know that some will find this a bit dull, and maybe not festive enough, but I ended up liking it way more than I expected. I recommend it as a bit of a gem to people who have already worked through their usual selection of festive film fare.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Tremors (1990)

I have seen Tremors before. In fact, I have seen it many times. I own it in a couple of different formats, I own the excellent book by Jonathan Melville, I even own the t-shirt (a great design from the now-defunct darkbunnytees). It is very much comfort food in movie form, and I know that many others agree. It's also up there with the very best creature features. Who doesn't like Tremors? People with no soul, that's who. 

The plot here is simple. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are Valentine and Earl, two friends and co-workers who are looking forward to getting away from Perfection, the small desert town they have felt trapped in for many years. They end up feeling more trapped than usual, however, when the local area becomes a hunting ground for a number of subterranean creatures. The creatures are blind, but they're able to pick up on vibrations and sound, and they're fast and powerful. But the local residents, including the heavily-armed Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather Gummer (Reba McEntire) aren't going to be easy pickings.

The feature film debut of director Ron Underwood, (who spent a decade or so working on numerous shorts, knocked out a few movies, and almost ended his career by helming The Adventures Of Pluto Nash) this is a perfect storm of great ingredients, from the cast to the creature design, from the screenplay, by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, to the ingenuity of the team all making the most of the relatively small budget.

Bacon and Ward are perfect in the lead roles, easygoing guys with a very believable friendship connecting them. Bacon has had his star shining brightly for decades now, but it's a shame that Ward rarely received due credit for the many wonderful performances he's delivered over the years. This remains one of his best turns, however, and we can just be thankful to the casting department for their great taste. That taste also gives us a lot of fun in the characters portrayed so wonderfully by Gross and McEntire, both highly proficient with their huge selection of weaponry. Finn Carter works well as Rhonda LeBeck, a graduate student conducting a number of seismology tests in the area, and a way to deliver more exposition at times (as well as being a potential romantic interest for one of our leads), and there are moments for Bobby Jacoby, Charlotte Stewart, Tony Genaro, Ariana Richards, and Victor Wong that provide a great mix of memorable moments for memorable characters. Everyone gets to be involved in the unfolding action, and nobody lets the team down. 

It's actually very easy to pull Tremors apart and show why it works as well as it does, and the biggest reason for the enduring success of it lies in the script. Following a structure that is familiar to any fan of decent creature features, or even most disaster movies, the pacing of every scene allows for beautifully-developed characterisations to run parallel to the increasingly dangerous threat to the lives of everyone onscreen. Add some creature POV shots, and a nice streak of humour, and the end result is something memorable, eminently rewatchable, and, well, almost perfectly designed to grab your attention and keep hold of it. And many of the films that would follow on from this (a number of sequels and one film set in the past) are also highly recommended, even if they aren't quite as good as this one.

Most people will have already seen this, which makes this yet another redundant review in a long line of redundant reviews. But if you haven't yet seen it . . . make it a priority. Today. treat yourself. You will definitely enjoy it. Unless you have no soul.

9/10

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Battledogs (2013)

When a young woman (Ariana Richards) turns a bit funny as she arrives at a New York airport she ends up causing quite a major situation. You see, she infects a number of people with what becomes known as the lupine virus. That means that when people get agitated they turn into werewolves. Vicious werewolves that appear to have jumped out of the nearest Playstation One. Anyway, Craig Sheffer and Kate Vernon play two people wanting to find a cure and help the situation, Dennis Haysbert is an uncaring military leader who wants to harness the power of the lupine virus and weaponise it, and Ernie Hudson pops up just long enough for fans of Ghostbusters to say: "look, Ernie Hudson."

This is how the main creatures look

Directed by Alexander Yellen and written by Shane Van Dyke, Battledogs may be full of horrible dialogue, uneven acting and special effects so bad that they will make your eyes water, but it also manages to be surprisingly enjoyable. God knows that I was expecting to do little more than endure this one, I'm as surprised as anyone else to have found a number of redeeming features.

THIS is a battledog!!!!!!!

The first redeeming feature is the cast. Although they are given the unenviable task of trying to polish a turd, forgive the expression, most of them still try to sell the ridiculous premise. Haysbert may be given the worst treatment by the script, but Sheffer, Hudson, Richards and Vernon all fare slightly better. They're not giving great performances, but they don't do too badly. Of course, maybe I was just expecting a LOT worse.

The second redeeming feature is the pacing of the thing. This starts off at a fair pace and never really lets up until the very end. Yes, there are inevitable moments of downtime but nothing ever gets so bad that you start clockwatching.

Third, there's just a healthy sense of fun about the whole thing. It's not being tongue-in-cheek, it's not trying to be some minor cult hit, but this aims to please. Despite the relatively small budget, it throws in many creature moments and keeps trying to punch above its weight. Most of those punches miss, but it's hard not to grudgingly admire the attempt.

Battledogs is NOT a good movie, yet I didn't hate it. I could bring myself to watch it again. But only if I really had to.

4/10


http://www.amazon.com/Battledogs-Blu-ray-Haysbert/dp/B00BMUL966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380191348&sr=8-1&keywords=battledogs

THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!