Movie Reviews 17

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)
Shot locally right here in Ottawa and staring Trevor Mathews (son of Terrence Matthews, the local high technology magnate) and Robert Englund, this movie is about a guy with a temper that redirects his anger towards monsters. Englund aside, and one creepy animatronic bloated Englund effect, there is not much more to this movie. Mathews just barely makes the movie watchable, but as a “Monster Slayer” there are not that many monsters as you would think. I think the local heavy promotion for this movie had me hoping it would be a lot better. It’s not a terrible movie, but nothing special either.

My Name is Bruce (2007)
Bruce Campbell is a cult überstar (is that an oxymoron?) with street cred when it comes to B-movies. Enough cred to make a movie about being a cult star. A hick town with a resurrected ancient Asian ghost turn to Bruce to solve their problem seeing as he seemed capable enough in his movies. Bruce, expecting a ‘surprise’ from his manager (played by Ted Raimi) thinks he’s in town to shoot a movie and plays along with the townsfolk. What makes this movie fun is Bruce poking fun at himself and the B-movie biz as a whole. I enjoyed it, but be forewarned that if you are not a fan of the man, then this is probably not a movie for you.

Snoop Dog’s Hood of Horror (2006)
A throwback to the old three story anthology horror movies of the 60’s and 70’s, only in Hip-Hop gansta style. The loosely strung together stories are decent enough to entertain. It all takes place in your typical ‘hood’, with bad ass MoFos, wheeling and dealing, and spray can wielding graffiti artists. Look for former headliner Billy Dee Williams as a preacher, the ornately tattooed former jailbird Danny Trejo from “Machete”, and Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander in very small but entertaining roles. Nothing like the classic anthology movies, but at least the anthologies are not completely gone.

The Sixth Sense (1999)
It’s not too often that you watch a movie with a specific purpose in mind. I first saw M. Night Shiyamalan’s The Sixth Sense about ten years ago and was snared by the surprise ending. So much so that I vowed that I would watch it again someday to see if the scenes with Bruce Willis could really have taken place given the twist ending presented. (For the record, yeah, it all fits.). This is one of those movies that the less you know about it, the more you can enjoy it, so I’ll spare the reader of any description. Just watch it if you haven’t done so already. And watch it again, if you’ve only seen it once.

Tags: Billy Dee Williams, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Willis, Danny Trejo, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Jason Alexander, M. Night Shiyamalan, My Name is Bruce, Ottawa, Robert Englund, Snoop Dog's Hood of Horror, Ted Raimi, The Sixth Sense, Trevor Mathews