Noir November: Cool World (1992)

Mixing live action and animation to tell a tale featuring a detective, a femme fatale, a confused artist, and a whole heap of bad toons, Cool World is an interesting failure. But it will always be quickly forgotten in a cinematic landscape that also holds Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and rightly so.

The story focuses on a young man (Frank Harris, played by Brad Pitt) who ends up living in Cool World, despite the fact that he's a flesh and blood human now stuck in a world full of cartoons. Frank ends up taking on the role of guardian/protector. He becomes a detective, and his main concern is stopping other real people from coming over to Cool World, or vice versa. If a human and cartoon end up having sex, for example, then the results could be disastrous. But that doesn't stop Holli Would (Kim Basinger) from trying to make that happen, especially when she has the opportunity to bewitch the man who believes that Cool World is his creation (Gabriel Byrne).

Written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor, the script for Cool World is a hodge-podge of cliches, potentially intriguing ideas, and thin characters (aside from the three leads). Director Ralph Bakshi puts his fingerprints all over it, of course, with the style of animation, and the constant use of cartoon characters in very adult situations, and fans of his work will at least want to give this a viewing. It's just a shame that everything potentially good (even great) in the movie is often covered over by sub-par animation and a constant urge to make things silly. Not that ALL the animation is sub-par. There are some moments that are pretty good, really, but the quality just isn't consistent as it needs to be.

Pitt isn't exactly on top form, but he does okay. Likewise, Byrne. Both men perhaps spent most of their time making sure that they were looking at the right spot and interacting convincingly with characters that were to be drawn in later. Basinger, on the other hand, gives a great performance. In animated form, she's a real hottie, and in human form . . . . . . . she's Kim Basinger. It's a win win, and she effortlessly makes her character a memorable sexy seductress who convincingly winds men around her little finger.

Wild 'n' whacky in a way that will surely put off as many viewers as it pleases, Cool World feels very much like an experiment gone wrong. That may have something to do with the fact that it was seriously altered (read = watered down) once Basinger became attached and voiced concerns about the original tone. While not exactly kid-friendly, it would have been interesting to see this given a distinctly more adult feel. Whether that would have greatly improved it or not, we'll never know.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Cool-World-Gabriel-Byrne/dp/B0000AUHQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415891181&sr=1-1&keywords=cool+world

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Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

I used to love Poltergeist II when I was young. I thought it was even better than the first movie. Now, with the benefit of age and wisdom (okay, okay, just with the benefit of age then), I can see a lot of the flaws it has and how it pales in comparison to the first movie.

Almost all of the main cast members return (with the exception of Dominique Dunne who was, tragically, killed by an abusive ex-boyfriend not long after the release of the first movie) for the continuing tale of a family plagued by supernatural events. This time around they have help in the form of Taylor (Will Sampson) as young Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is targeted by crazy Kane (Julian Beck, who died of stomach cancer after this film was completed). The Freeling family must stick together as a unit to battle the forces working against them.

It seems kind of churlish to complain about a lack of believability in a sequel to a movie that revolved around a little girl being taken by ghosts into a TV but that’s the biggest failing of this sequel. It’s also not helped by an uneven tone that fails to blend horror and humour as effectively as the first movie did and, instead, just has one or two impressive moments left among a number of other scenes drained of any tension due to a mix of lacklustre execution and overused humour. This time around, the Freeling family (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the father and mother, in particular) don’t seem particularly terrified by everything going on around them. While I appreciate that this time around they’re seeing spookiness that’s not entirely new to them I still think that they should have been more shaken up. 

Michael Grais and Mark Victor return to the writing duties, with Brian Gibson taking a turn in the director’s chair, but this movie is saved by the cast and one or two great special effects moments (just keep your eye on that tequila worm as one prime example). 

It’s not a bad movie at all but, unsurprisingly, it’s not as good as the superb original. 

6/10 

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Poltergeist (1982)

A classic tale of suburban horror, Poltergeist is just one of those films that most people of my generation saw 101 times during the 1980s, and deservedly so. It’s a polished thrill-ride of a movie, an entertaining horror film that mixes humour in with the scares and blends jumps with atmosphere (and some great special effects) for a fantastic package. To many true horror fans it may be viewed as “horror-lite” but it’s pretty bloody good horror-lite.

The Freeling family are a normal, everyday American family. Mum and dad look after two daughters and a son and breakfast revolves around the usual minor squabbles and family disputes. Things change when they find that their house has some strange power within it, something that starts off by harmlessly moving furniture (and people, when placed in the right spot). The harmless soon becomes a nightmare, however, when young Carol Anne disappears and her voice is heard coming from the TV. Energy and strange activity builds in the house and the Freeling family have no choice but to call in some specialist investigators to help them with their unique problem.

Based on an idea by Steven Spielberg (who also produced the movie), Poltergeist is directed by Tobe Hooper but you’d hardly be able to tell that. Hooper hasn’t exactly held himself up as a master of cinema, with the exception of his phenomenal horror movie that revolved around a certain chainsaw-wielding maniac, and all of the main choices here just look like they were made by Spielberg. The shots of suburban Americana, the wonderful score by Jerry Goldsmith, the smooth and quick push-in shot up to a character’s face, etc, etc.

But just who did what behind the scenes is irrelevant anyway, when it comes to the viewing experience. What matters is just how enjoyable the thing is. The cast are all fantastic. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson remain likeable and believable throughout experiences that grow increasingly far-fetched. Heather O’Rourke is angelic and wholly innocent as Carol Anne. Oliver Robins is great as Robbie, the middle child, and Dominique Dunn is just fine as the eldest, the one who fully realises how crazy everything is and just wants to get the hell out of the house ASAP.  Everyone else onscreen is just fine but James Karen deserves a special mention as an unscrupulous businessman and Zelda Rubinstein will always be remembered for her turn as Tangina.

 

Followed by two inferior sequels, and referenced in many other films and shows, Poltergeist remains a top-notch haunted house movie and is as entertaining today as it was back in 1982, when it was first released. 

8/10

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