Night Of The Scarecrow (1995)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no character deaths, major reveals, or plot twists**


After a lengthy hiatus, Claire Goodman (Elizabeth Barondes) returns to her hometown of Hanford. Here, Claire has a tense reunion with her bitter father, Mayor William Goodman (Gary Lockwood). Claire befriends a local farmer named Dillon (John Mese) after Dillon's heated confrontation with Danny (John Hawkes), one of Dillon's more disgruntled workers.

At the Mayor’s house, Dillon is introduced to the entire Goodman family one by one. Dillon meets the town sheriff, Frank Goodman (Stephen Root), his wife, Lorraine (Cynthia Merrill), and their two children Toby and Martha; the town priest, Thaddeus (Bruce Glover), his wife, Barbara (Martine Beswick), and their daughter, Stephanie (Cristi Harris); and George (Dirk Blocker), who lives alone on a farm.

Claire tries to enjoy a happy and peaceful return to Hanford, but the harmless trip down memory lane is disrupted by a murderous scarecrow. After an unintentional resurrection, The Scarecrow (Howard Swain) embarks on a murderous rampage with one mission: Destroy the entire Goodman family one by one. Claire slowly uncovers secrets behind a troubled past for her ancestors, and the origins of The Scarecrow. With Dillon’s help, Claire fights to stop The Scarecrow’s killing spree, but a bigger problem emerges after a confession from Thaddeus. Using an ancient tool of evil, The Scarecrow plans to resurrect an invincible warlock.

I’m used to seeing a few generic and clichéd characters in a slasher film, but Night Of The Scarecrow has a bad case of overkill in this department. Claire is the innocent good girl, who transforms into the unlikely heroine as the movie progresses. Mayor Goodman is the typical greedy and corrupt politician. George is the angry booze guzzling drunk, who totes a shotgun. Thaddeus is the self-righteous priest. Dillon is the guy, who inexplicably falls for the leading lady (Claire), he’ll do anything to protect her, and Dillon forms a team with Claire to fight The Scarecrow. And I can’t forget about Danny, because he’s the one guy, who’s a jerk to everyone.

Although, Stephanie is a nice refreshing change for this cast of characters. At first glance, you’ll get the impression Stephanie is pure and harmless as a priest’s daughter, but behind her father’s back, Stephanie is a loose and promiscuous teenage girl, who’s in a secret relationship with her wild boyfriend.

And yeah, the characters are clichéd and generic, but you’ll see the familiar faces of a few veterans here. Root gives one of the better performances, but Root also had more breathing room to work with as Frank, because Frank is the conflicted sheriff, who’s torn between doing the right thing, and obeying strict orders from his overbearing brother (William). Overall, the cast isn’t bad, and Barondes is a decent leading lady.

Night Of The Scarecrow’s mundane through the motions predictability really annoyed me at times. The horror clichés? Oy vey. You name it, and you’ll see it in Night Of The Scarecrow. The car won't start, victims fall down while running, a few morons accidentally resurrect an ancient evil, and of course, you have the miraculous Hail Mary comeback at the end.

Still, if you’re the type of horror fan, who enjoys mindless fun, Night Of The Scarecrow is a passable guilty pleasure film. Night Of The Scarecrow is loaded with some really gruesome and creative kills, and you’ll see a some genuine cringeworthy moments. Night Of The Scarecrow is a corny B-movie slasher flick with some hilarious one-liners, including Claire’s “How bout some fire Scarecrow!” But I’ll warn you now, if you watch Night Of The Scarecrow with a serious mindset, you’ll have a miserable viewing experience, and I’m pretty sure you’ll hate yourself for taking the time to watch this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Night Of The Scarecrow (1995)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

After a lengthy hiatus, Claire Goodman (Elizabeth Barondes) returns to her hometown of Hanford. Here, Claire has a tense reunion with her bitter father, Mayor William Goodman (Gary Lockwood). Claire befriends a local farmer named Dillon (John Mese) after Dillon's heated confrontation with Danny (John Hawkes), one of Dillon's more disgruntled workers.

At the Mayor’s house, Dillion is introduced to the entire Goodman family one by one. Dillion meets the town sheriff, Frank Goodman (Stephen Root), his wife, Lorraine (Cynthia Merrill), and their two children Toby and Martha; the town priest, Thaddeus (Bruce Glover), his wife, Barbara (Martine Beswick), and their daughter, Stephanie (Cristi Harris); and George (Dirk Blocker), who lives alone on a farm after the death of his wife, Doris.

Claire tries to ignore the friction with her father, so she can enjoy a happy and peaceful reunion with her uncles, but The Goodmans are forced to deal with a bigger problem. One night, a drunk Danny and his buddy, Ben (Robert Harvey) accidentally disturb the tomb of an evil warlock. After Danny urinates on a post with The Scarecrow (Howard Swain) attached to it, The Scarecrow comes to life, determined to complete one mission: Murder all The Goodmans, and anyone, who tries to stop him.

After Thaddeus survives an attack from The Scarecrow, Thaddeus explains the dark history behind The Scarecrow’s past. Over one hundred years ago, Silas Goodman led The Goodmans to Hanford. Under Silas’ guidance, The Goodman’s settled in and founded Hanford. But infertile soil and harsh winters destroyed all the crops, and eventually the entire town was stuck in a period of famine with no help, until a warlock offered his help. Using his evil spell book, The Warlock (John Lazar) made a deal with Silas, promising to restore the soil and provide more than enough food to feed the town. In return, The Warlock was free to do anything in Hanford with no restrictions or questions asked.

As the desperate leader, Silas agreed to The Warlock’s terms to save his people. Eventually, The Warlock used his black magic to corrupt the townspeople, so Silas drugged The Warlock’s drink one day. With help from other Goodmans and the townspeople, Silas crucified The Warlock, and to leave no room for error, Silas and others burned The Warlock’s body. The Warlock’s spirit was confined to a scarecrow, and his bones were buried underground in a sealed tomb.

For protection Silas stole and hid the evil spell book, and as the oldest living Goodman, William received the spell book as a gift. Motivated by revenge as a scarecrow, The Warlock has returned to retrieve the hidden spell book, because The Scarecrow can use the spell book to reunite his bones with flesh for a return to the living world.

During the chaos, Mayor Goodman is more concerned with protecting a lucrative land deal for Hanford’s first shopping mall, and William sees an easy target for a scapegoat in a hot-headed Dillon. Claire struggles to locate the spell book, as The Scarecrow wreaks havoc in Hanford. Failure isn’t an option, because if The Scarecrow succeeds, The Warlock will return as a powerful and unstoppable force.

I’m used to seeing a few generic and clichéd characters in a slasher film, but Night Of The Scarecrow has a bad case of overkill in this department. Claire is the innocent good girl, who transforms into the unlikely heroine as the movie progresses. Mayor Goodman is the typical greedy and corrupt politician. George is the angry booze guzzling drunk, who totes a shotgun. Thaddeus is the self-righteous priest. Dillon is the guy, who inexplicably falls for the leading lady (Claire), he’ll do anything to protect her, and Dillon forms a team with Claire to fight The Scarecrow. And I can’t forget about Danny, because he’s the one guy, who’s a jerk to everyone, so when his character is killed off, you either don’t care or you’re happy he’s dead.

Although, Stephanie is a nice refreshing change for this cast of characters. At first glance, you’ll get the impression Stephanie is pure and harmless as a priest’s daughter, but behind her father’s back, Stephanie is a loose and promiscuous teenage girl, who’s in a secret relationship with her boyfriend, Danny.

And yeah, the characters are clichéd and generic, but you’ll see the familiar faces of a few veterans here. Root gives one of the better performances, but Root also had more breathing room to work with as Frank, because Frank is the conflicted sheriff, who’s torn between doing the right thing, and obeying strict orders from his overbearing brother (William). Overall, the cast isn’t bad, and Barondes is a decent leading lady.

Night Of The Scarecrow’s mundane through the motions predictability really annoyed me at times. The most obvious choice is Claire and Dillon surviving. You knew both of them would make it to the end after some big, epic battle with The Scarecrow, and they did. You knew Frank would find a way to return after a fight with The Scarecrow, and he did. And of course, two people (Stephanie and Danny) are murdered after an attempt at sexual intercourse. To make things worse, you have that one person (Stephanie), who unknowingly flirts with the killer, until they open their eyes to witness their own demise.

The horror clichés? Oy vey. You name it, and you’ll see it in Night Of The Scarecrow. Frank’s cop car won’t start TWICE, as Claire and Dillon are trying to make an escape. Victims fall down while running, Danny and Ben disturb The Scarecrow, when Ben clearly senses something is wrong, and during the finale, you have the miraculous Hail Mary comeback from Claire and Dillon.

Still, if you’re the type of horror fan, who enjoys mindless fun, Night Of The Scarecrow is a passable guilty pleasure film. Night Of The Scarecrow is loaded with some really gruesome and creative kills, and you’ll see some genuine cringeworthy moments (i.e. The Scarecrow sewing Thaddeus’ mouth shut…ouch). Night Of The Scarecrow is a corny B-movie slasher flick with some hilarious one-liners, including Claire’s “How bout some fire Scarecrow!” during the finale. But I’ll warn you now, if you watch Night Of The Scarecrow with a serious mindset, you’ll have a miserable viewing experience, and I’m pretty sure you’ll hate yourself for taking the time to watch this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Ice Cream Man (1995)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no plot twists, major reveals, or character deaths**


After witnessing an unforgettable tragedy as a child, a young Gregory Tudor is sent to Wishing Well Sanatorium. As an adult, Gregory (Clint Howard) returns to his neighborhood as the local ice cream man to honor his childhood idol. But Gregory isn’t the same innocent child anymore. Too many years in the sanatorium transformed Gregory into a bloodthirsty maniac, and instead of adding chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, or hunks of brownies to his ice cream, Gregory stuffs his tasty treats with body parts from people, insects, and dogs.

Three children named Tuna (JoJo Adams), Johnny (Justin Isfeld), and Heather (Anndi McAfee) form a friendly trio, and together, they embark on a mission to stop Gregory with help from Detective Maldwyn (Lee Majors II) and Detective Gifford (Jan-Michael Vincent). Heather tries to outsmart her strict father, Reverend Langley (David Werner), and Johnny has to endure some bullying from his big brother, Jacob (Karl Makinen).

The group is forced to overcome the hurdle of Nurse Wharton (Olivia Hussey), Gregory’s nurse at the sanatorium, and Nurse Wharton protects Gregory as his legal guardian/landlord. And the hunt for Gregory takes an unexpected turn, when Small Paul (Mikey LeBeau), another child and a friend of the trio, suddenly disappears……….

Howard’s parody performance of an unhinged loon is good for a few cheap laughs, but the majority of the supporting cast is mediocre at best. LeBeau is spot on as the geeky outcast, but the rest? Nothing special at all. Majors is just going through the motions as the clueless member of the duo, Makinen is the generic douchey big brother, and Isfeld’s Johnny is supposed to the “cool kid” in the group. Warner is the other recognizable name from this cast, but he’s limited to a forgettable and dull character, as the self-righteous and delusional preacher.

Honestly, I don’t get the cult following for Ice Cream Man. The production values are noticeably poor, the writing is pedestrian at best, and overall, the performances are unbearable. Yeah, I know most horror fans won’t  hesitate to give this one the B-Movie pass, but I’m not one of them. Sorry, but Ice Cream Man has one too many legit problems to ignore for my taste.

My biggest pet peeve for Ice Cream Man? The tone of this film is too confusing. Anyone remember Goosebumps? For those who don’t know, Goosebumps was a popular horror anthology TV series for kids based on the books by R.L. Stine, and I LOVED this show as a kid (I was also a big fan of the books). Anyway, each Goosebumps episode was based on a book, and for those who know anything about the Goosebumps TV series and the books,  Goosebumps was horror for kids with a lighter and more comedic take. Very campy most of the time, and from what I remember, not too much or no blood at all.

Why am I using Goosebumps as an example? Because I got the feeling I was watching an episode of Goosebumps with adult themes, but Goosebumps never featured infidelity, and noticeable blood and gore. The mash-up of hokey ridiculousness and gruesome horror didn’t work for me, because Ice Cream Man tries too hard on both sides, and I was burnt on the goofy stuff after twenty-five minutes.

Ice Cream Man was chore to sit through, and the creepy box cover fooled me into believing I might enjoy this one. Well, I was wrong. I tried, but Ice Cream Man didn’t click with me. Clint Howard is good for a few cheap laughs, the black and white prologue is a nice nostalgic treat, and I appreciate the wink to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). There’s a scene, where Maldwyn refers to “That Cuckoo movie” during a scene at the sanatorium. Cool moment.

Still, Ice Cream Man is an awful film. Ice Cream Man is a mess of laughable production values, poor writing, inconsistent tones, an overall mediocre cast, pitiful campy humor, and lame jokes. It’s a shame, because Ice Cream Man features a fun premise for the horror comedy sub-genre, and with a better screenplay, director, and overall cast, Ice Cream Man could’ve been a much better film. Maybe I’ll have a change of heart on a second viewing, but for now, I’ll remember Ice Cream Man as an avoidable abomination.

Rating: 2/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Ice Cream Man (1995)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

As a child, a young Gregory Tudor awaits the arrival of the Ice Cream Man one day. Gregory is seconds away from receiving his daily cold treat, but the Ice Cream Man is murdered after a drive by shooting in front of Gregory. Unable to handle the trauma of witnessing the death of his hero, Gregory is sent to the Wishing Well Sanatorium for treatment.

As an adult, Gregory (Clint Howard) returns to the same neighborhood he grew up in as a child to continue the legacy of his idol as the new Ice Cream Man. Nurse Wharton (Olivia Hussey) took care of Gregory as one of her favorites in the sanatorium, and as Gregory’s landlord/legal guardian, Nurse Wharton protects Gregory at all costs. But Gregory isn’t the same innocent child anymore. Too many years in the sanatorium transformed Gregory into a bloodthirsty maniac, and instead of adding chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, or hunks of brownies to his ice cream, Gregory stuffs his tasty treats with body parts from people, insects, and the mangled corpse of a dog.

Against their parents wishes, three children named Tuna (JoJo Adams), Heather (Anndi McAfee), and Johnny (Justin Isfeld) take it upon themselves to investigate Gregory’s peculiar lifestyle.  Heather tries to outsmart her strict father, Reverend Langley (David Warner), and Johnny has to endure some bullying from his big brother, Jacob (Karl Makinen), but the trio runs into a bigger problem, when Gregory kidnaps Small Paul (Mikey LeBeau), another friend in the group, one night. Detective Maldwyn (Lee Majors II) and Detective Gifford (Jan-Michael Vincent) suspect something fishy after a brief encounter with Gregory, and they’ll have to work with the kids to save Small Paul’s life before it’s too late.

Howard’s parody performance of an unhinged loon is good for a few cheap laughs, but the majority of the supporting cast is mediocre at best. LeBeau is spot on as the geeky outcast, but the rest? Nothing special at all. Majors is just going through the motions as the clueless member of the duo, Makinen is the generic douchey big brother, and Isfeld’s Johnny is supposed to the “cool kid” in the group. Warner is the other recognizable name from this cast, but he’s limited to a forgettable and dull character, as the self-righteous and delusional preacher.

Honestly, I don’t get the cult following for Ice Cream Man. Yeah, I know most horror fans won’t  hesitate to give this one the B-Movie pass, but I’m not one of them. Sorry, but Ice Cream Man has one too many legit problems to ignore for my taste.

My biggest pet peeve for Ice Cream Man? The tone of this film is too confusing. Anyone remember Goosebumps? For those who don’t know, Goosebumps was a popular horror anthology TV series for kids based on the books by R.L. Stine, and I LOVED this show as a kid (I was also a big fan of the books). Anyway, each Goosebumps episode was based on a book, and for those who know anything about the Goosebumps TV series and the books,  Goosebumps was horror for kids with a lighter and more comedic take. Very campy most of the time, and from what I remember, not too much or no blood at all.

Why am I using Goosebumps as an example? Because I got the feeling I was watching an episode of Goosebumps with adult themes. In Ice Cream Man, you’ll see a husband cheating on his wife with a scantily clad and promiscuous woman, sex photos, and lots of blood and gore. That doesn’t sound like an episode of Goosebumps, right? Well, there’s a cast of kids here, and they’re trying to solve the mystery of  a bogeyman-esque character as sleuths.

Yeah, that sounds like an episode of Goosebumps, but Goosebumps never featured infidelity, and noticeable blood and gore. The mash-up of hokey ridiculousness and gruesome horror didn’t work for me, because Ice Cream Man tries too hard on both sides, and I was burnt on the goofy stuff after twenty-five minutes. The worst example of mixing gruesome horror with stupid comedy? Somehow, Gregory manages to stick a victim’s severed head inside a BIG waffle cone. I tried, but I could not laugh at this scene no matter what.

Ice Cream Man is loaded with a number of eye rolling moments. One that sticks out is Detective Maldwyn eating one of Gregory’s “special” ice cream cones. The ice cream cone contains a few scoops of ice cream…. and an eyeball. There’s a close-up shot of Maldwyn’s mouth as he’s eating the cone,  and unknowingly, Maldwyn is playing around with the eyeball in front of his teeth. Seriously? Maldwyn and Gifford visit Wishing Well Sanatorium to dig up some dirt on Gregory, and EVERYONE in the sanatorium (including the staff) is hopped up on medication and completely nuts. Maldwyn and Gifford are running away from an angry horde. Maldwyn is running with a sense of urgency, and while Maldwyn is waiting at the car, Gifford is casually walking, while a large group of deranged patients follow him?

First, I’m pretty sure if I had a freakin’ eyeball in my mouth, I would be able to taste/feel it, and spit it out immediately. Second, I know I’m watching a movie, but you’re being chased by a group of deranged nutcases, and you casually stroll to the car? Sorry, but that doesn’t work for me. Again, I know I’m watching a movie, but Ice Cream Man pushes the suspension of disbelief  limits too far.

Ice Cream Man was chore to sit through, and the creepy box cover fooled me into believing I might enjoy this one. Well, I was wrong. I tried, but Ice Cream Man didn’t click with me. There’s a semi-creepy shot of Small Paul playing with a bucket of ice cream inside a sanatorium after he murders Gregory to close the film. It’s an attempt at foreshadowing for Small Paul as the next ice cream killer, because for a while, Gregory trusted Small Paul as his apprentice. But this cliffhanger didn’t do anything for me, because I don’t have the slightest urge for a sequel. Clint Howard is good for a few cheap laughs, the black and white prologue is a nice nostalgic treat, and I appreciate the wink to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). There’s a scene, where Maldwyn refers to “That Cuckoo movie” during a scene at the sanatorium. Cool moment.

Still, Ice Cream Man is an awful film. Ice Cream Man is a mess of laughable production values, poor writing, inconsistent tones, an overall mediocre cast, pitiful campy humor, and lame jokes. It’s a shame, because Ice Cream Man features a fun premise for the horror comedy sub-genre, and with a better screenplay, director, and overall cast, Ice Cream Man could’ve been a much better film. Maybe I’ll have a change of heart on a second viewing, but for now, I’ll remember Ice Cream Man as an avoidable abomination.

Rating: 2/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Jumanji (1995)

In 1969, a young Alan Parrish finds a board game named Jumanji. After taking a beating from a group of bullies, and hiding in his father’s shoe factory, Alan takes the board game home. Alan plans to run away from home after an argument with his father, but things change when Sarah, the girlfriend of the ring leader for the bullies, shows up to return his stolen bike. Alan convinces Sarah to play Jumanji with him, but after a roll of the dice, Alan is sucked into the board game, and Sarah is scared off by a swarm of bats.

Twenty-six years later, two young children named Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) move into Alan’s childhood home after their parent’s sudden and tragic deaths. Aunt Nora (Bebe Neuwrith) is the guardian, and Nora will have her hands full with a disrespectful niece and a strange nephew. Plus, Jumanji will only complicate Nora’s problems. One day, while snooping around in the attic, Judy and Peter find the Jumanji board game. Unaware of its evil powers, Judy and Peter decide to play Jumanji. After a few rolls of the dice, Judy and Peter free Alan from the board game. Now twenty-six years older, Alan (Robin Williams) will have to find Sarah, and with Peter and Judy’s help, the group will have to finish one game of Jumanji. Finshing the game will restore Alan’s normal life as a child, send the wild jungle animals back to their homes, and stop Jumanji’s magical path of destruction.

Well, I’m burnt out on 2012 stuff right now, so I decided to watch Jumanji. As a kid, I LOVED this movie. Hell, I begged my mother to buy me the board game for my birthday.

It took me a while to realize it, but the kid, who plays Judy is a young Kirsten Dunce. Robin Williams is predictably whacky as usual, and the rest of the cast is solid. Although, David Alan Grier is annoying at times. I used to enjoy his work on Living Color, but with the exception of a flashback at the beginning, his character is so obnoxious and over the top. 

Jumanji was a fun experience as a child, but I’m older now, and this film didn’t do anything for me. The CGI monkeys look so fake, the special effects are horribly outdated, and it’s hard to ignore. The humor is pretty lame, and Johnathan Hyde is a problem here. I’m not complaining about his performances, but Hyde portrays two characters in this film: Alan’s father and Van Pelt, a hunter, who emerges from Jumanji. Even with the beard as Van Pelt, it’s so easy to see the same guy as two characters. There’s no illusion, and Hyde’s double duty just kills any interest in both characters.

I can watch the live action Ninja Turtles films (the first two, because I still despise the third one and the time travel bullshit) and Home Alone 2 now a days, and I’ll still experience those great feelings of nostalgia. I can’t say the same thing about Jumanji. I chuckled a few times, and I enjoyed some of the adventurous action sequences (mainly the flood and man-eating vine attacks in the house towards the end), but overall, Jumanji was too dull for me.

Final Rating: 4/10