Month: May 2018

Horse Crazy! (2001)

What is it with kids films and them being absolutely goddamn awful!? When I first started reviewing films on a weekly basis I would have never have guessed that some of the worst films I would encounter would be aimed at young children, and yet less than 12 months into doing it I’ve stumbled on 2 kids movies that I think are some of the absolute worst I’ve ever sat through.

The problem with this film is its way to sanitized and when it does try to be rebellious, it does so in a way that much like “Lets ruin dads day” could be seen as actually doing more harm to the child than good.

I also tremendously dislike the fact that “Stoney” in this film is kind of forced into the cowboy role even when he opens his heart out to our two leading child actors. Whether by the end of the movie Stoney just feels more comfortable in the role of the cowboy or whether he’s simply relapsed into his “Persona” to keep his friends on side is debateble but yeh, overall this is a cheap and nasty bordering on creepy little kids film and im kind of glad it doesnt have a particularly large audience.

There is a Sequel “Horse Crazy too!” and I promise you now, its a matter of when, not if for when I’ll get round to this one. Because I cant quite believe this film got made. Letalone that someone actively thought that there was enough to go on to produce a sequel. But I will endure because I knew what I was signing up for when I started this. I hope your all grateful.

 

(You honestly wouldnt believe how much trouble I have finding high resolution box art covers online for these obscure films…it sometimes takes me longer to find a decent image than it does to write the review!)
by tytdreviews

House (1985)

Season 4! And at the time of writing we’re on the day before my first anniversairy with youtube! These decriptions may end up thinning out a little bit from here on in, mainly due to the fact that when I started writing these overviews of the episodes there was a 10-11 month gap and I’d had plenty of time to re-evaluate my thoughts and feelings about each episode as they went by whereas I watched and recorded my review of house in late January/early February.

As a result its still fairly fresh in my mind, and this is only going to become more commonplace as things go along. Though “House” has been a bit of an interesting ride of highs and lows since my first viewing of it. In my mind I keep flip-flopping between thinking it was a good bit of fun and that I’d really look forward to watching the sequels, while at the exact same time a part of my brain thinks that it’s just a bit of a rubbish fluff and that I should probably put off watching any more of these for a while because I simply have much more interesting stuff I could be watching.

House isnt a perfect movie but since I watched it I think i’ve leaned more towards being interested in seeing more than I have had moments of wishing i’d never seen it. It reminded me a bit of an adult goosebumps. In the sense that it isnt exactly scary, but it is entertaining and has a spooky quality about it. It may come across to me a bit like a prototype of “The Burbs” but ultimately I guess its an enjoyable little movie in and of itself.

(The sequel to this looks absolutely mental…)
by tytdreviews

Finishing the Complete Third Series (2018)

Series 3 I think is the season where I finally managed to get the majority of my ideas consistently down. Unlike the other two seasons which were learning curves using trial and error both in my pacing and in the design of the channel. It was season 3 where I personally feel I really got down exactly what I was trying to do and was able to keep the quality levels up a bit (Most would disagree)

I think personally there were some pretty good episodes in this run. I personally had a lot of fun editing my reviews of Gammera, Terror in Beverly hills, Ring of Terror and Australian Web of Fear. But it was also nice to be able to get to grips with unexpected movies like Balance of Power and Francesca.

This was to me a season of growth and while I dont necissarily have a lot to say about this season in terms of how its turned out when compared to previous seasons. It definitely set me up ready to go with some very useful skills that I would take into season 4. In fact at the time of writing this article Im very nearly finished with season 4’s writing and it’s been a blast to work on almost as much as this season was.

It was the longest season to date and it’s also got a special place in my heart.

(Fun Fact: I originally edited Gammera to include the old intros from season 2 before re-editing them at the last minute for the newer titles)
by tytdreviews

Doctor Screw (2006)

When it came to choosing a “Red Triangle” that would see off “Alternate Doctor who month” it was really no question in my mind at least that porn would be the end result. I mean, I maybe could have gone with Torchwood or Class…something a bit more adult but still in universe, but I thought it was too mainstream, too well connected to the series to fly to be honest.

Next my thoughts went to BBV and there were some very serious considerations for “The Airzone Solution” or the “Auton” series. But again while I think they may work well as a TYTD episode in the future it just wasnt right here. Porn. Porn was what was needed and by gum porn was what I settled for!

Of course the options were bountiful (No pun intended) “Doctor who and the Phaleks” was my go to option for the longest time before briefly swapping to the “Woodrocket” sequences, there was even a brief dabble with “Abducted by the daleks” but in the end “Doctor Screw” was one of those porn films that had both not been widely covered and one that I distinctly remember doing the rounds in the early days of the David Tennant era with a dirty smirk and a cheeky chuckle from the Doctor who fandom back in the day. so I was happy to pick that one purely due to its lack of coverage.

It’s quite frankly appauling as pornography. But in terms of being a piece of alternative cultural history it really is a piece of its time. I pretty much say everything I can possibly say about this series in my review itself but even for its impotence I’d recommend fans of the new series check this one out. it’s really weird due to just how early it came out in the new series’ run and as a result it kind of fudges its way through the best it can. It’s also interesting from a historical standpoint as it marks the transition between porn parodies being a cheap and cheerful rubbish affair to being a highly polished and nightmare inducing rubbish affair (Im looking at you Strokemon).

Either way this is a very bizarre notch in Doctor who history and I really couldnt think of a better way to see this season off.

(I really love that boxart for the complete set…I own the solo releases and they’re rubbish by comparison…)
by tytdreviews

The Crystal of Achillon (1994)

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Projection room films in all honesty. In the past 5 years or so things seemingly have gone quite quiet for the fan production group from the north of England with there intricate and entangled multiverses…

My main problem I seem to remember having with them (It has been a couple of years since I last went through them all) is that they do seem to take themselves very seriously. While theres definitely an aire of fun behind all of the films they’ve produced, I do rather get the feeling that theres a subtle hint of egotism behind there projects. just a dash…I see it in there extensive extras packages which compile various minor TV appearences and making of documentaries that pretty much consist of Chris Hoyle just regailing his memories of being on set. the fact I paid money for these films at one point or another. Where as Ausweb and the likes seemed unashamedly for fun and they felt completely comfortable producing a lower budget/quality movie with its sould in the right place. the later Projection room films just seem to be missing a bit of heart. just that vibe that says “We’re having a laugh here” to me, the later films from this group just kind of feel a little bit like they quite desperately want to be closely tied to the show in any possible way, forgetting that ultimately they’re both the largest fan film group for Doctor who in the country and the longest established fan film group in the country.

I’ll probably air those grievences though next time I decide to do a Doctor who month. For now though it’s 1994 and the projection rooms little more than this movie and possible two very short stories. it’s a small group of friends making a goofy and very affectionate fan film trying to continue a series that was in the midst of the early half of a 16 year hiatus. and its all good fun really. I was maybe a bit overly harsh with this one, on its own its perfectly find I feel I may have had my enthusiasm dampened for it somewhat by the history that would be written after this movie got made.

The Crystal of Achillon is arguably one of the perfect starting points if your looking to get into Doctor who fan films. as is the projection room for that matter. through there history you’ll see fan films done right, fan films done very wrong and better still quite a few cast and crew members went on to make their own fan films independent from the projection room. In terms of british fan films. The projection room arguably is the core of a very very sprawling hobby. and I can only commend them for it in that regard.

 

(Yeh; my thoughts and feelings on the projection room are a bit garbled. they’ve been going for so long its impossible not to feel mixed about what they do and how they do it)
by tytdreviews

The Australian Abominable Snowmen (1996)

Australian Abminable Snowmen is the second and final venture into Doctor who for Butchgro films and it upsets me really that outside of potentially doing commentaries for these two short films that its very unlikely I’ll ever be able to talk about a Butchgro production again.

I have a genuine soft spot for these movies. they genuinely seem to have come from a place of admiration for the TV show they’re remaking. the cast seem very positive about it and as far as I can tell they’re proud of what they were able to achieve back in the early/mid 90’s.

These films are not masterpieces. I’d be being disingenuous if I were to say these were high quality master works. They are however very joyous and very entertaining. I can smile along and enjoy these films while feeling the fun the cast and crew were having when making these films. And these were dedicated fans. in this film alone they travelled many miles just to find authentic snow for a handful of shots to illustrate the outer border of the monestary. When the filming finished/juddered to a halt they both sat through over 12 months of solid graft editing in order to ensure that the movie would be finished. Even  if there would only ever be a handful of people who’d ever actually even see it. This was nearly a full decade before youtube would become a thing you have to imagine so they made this film knowing that, other than there small circle of friends, noone may actually see this.

Since releasing these two reviews I have recieved some very kind words both from David Butcher (Who reiterated him and Grants full intent to remaster and re-release these two movies (Which I sincerely hope they do) and members of the gallifrey base message board who seemingly had little to no idea that this movie even existed in the first place.

I dont want to sound egotistical but im glad I did my bit to ensure that this movie got seen again. And if your a veteran of the cult and strange cinema genre I highly recommend you check these two films out. There weird wonderful a a genuinely fun experience to zone out to. a definate watch from me!

 

(While Snowmen is entertaining “Ausweb” will always hold a special place in my heart)
by tytdreviews

DR WHO: The Lost Interviews (2009)

Its not difficult to fail in the genre of Documentary, Sometimes your documentary will contain false information accidentally, quite often Documentaries simply become redundent due to new information coming to light or events occuring that make them no longer relevent.

But “Dr who: The Lost Interviews” is rather special in the sense that it completely and totally failed right out of the gate simply by not caring about the facts or about making it a worthwhile purchase. This doc is pretty much entirely built on hearsay, rumours and grossly misleading information. it looks like it was assembled by someone who’d never touched editing software before in there lives (And I say that as a professional editor with rapidly approaching 10 years experience in my field) and quite frankly it comes across as money grabbing.

I would say that Neil Sean strikes me as the kind of person who would have strong appeal amongst your casual tv and film viewer. the kind of person who’ll happily flop in front of “Corrie” for every episode through a week, the sort who’d read “Take a break” and who watched the royal wedding with tears streaming down there faces (IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME DAMNIT!)…*Ahem*…What im saying is that, had Mr. Sean booked up a bit more about Doctor who and played this as a “Beginners guide to behind the scenes” for Doctor who then it may have been a completely different approach. As it stands this DVD is marketing itself as something for the “Hardcore” fans by promising exclusive interviews, insider gossip and a deep look into the current workings of the show. and it flounders quite spectacularly in doing this.

Now Im sure Mr. Sean in real life is a lovely man and at the same time I respect that everyone has to earn a living. But the absolute cheek of this guy to try and flog a few off cut interviews with his hosting links bundled in and to try and make out tha this will be a release that no Who fan should be without is bordering on the offensive.

Quite mercifully Neil sean has since moved to youtube where if his videos views are anything to go by he hasnt garnered much interest. I feel in some ways relieved that apart from the inevitable review of his “Dad’s army” dvd I most likely wont have to go near one of his “Official releases” again.

(Also; Please please please go and check out Dave Gormans blog posts on Neil Sean, He’s much more eloquent and better at grammar than me.)
by tytdreviews