Jack Be Nimble

Rating:
Summary: a journey into deepest madness
Review: 5 years after (it was at Fantastic festival of Gerardmer, France), Jack be nimble is still a hard experiment in fear ! I regret this DVD edition doesn't respect the original format of the movie, you will be terrfied by the world of this boy's family : his half-sisters are completely unsane and give some of the biggest horror visions never seen for a long time. Some commentaries of the director about this mad story could've been a good bonus and will uprate the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves CULT Status - a true Horror film with Style.
Review: Garth Maxwell now directs lots of XENA episodes, but he made this great little New Zealand horror masterpiece several years earlier. It's a unique exercise in stylish mood and character. Alexis Arquette and Sarah Kennedy play brother and sister separated from each other as young children. Arquette ends up with an abusive family with 3 weird look-a-like "goth" sisters. What will Arquette do to survive the abuse from his new Mom and Pop and siblings? ---create a weird electrical - candle fused machine that can hypnotize and give him the chance to wreak revenge. It may sound ridiculous, but director Maxwell handles it as a mood-piece, almost like a fairy-tale, and it works. Eventually Arquette finds his sister which leads to their search for their abandoning mother. They're also being chased by the 3 "goth" sisters...which ends in a haunting finale. A great little horror film for fans who hate mainstream stuff like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer". As far as the DVD goes, it's a mixed bag. Unfortunately, IMAGE ENT. once again released a bare-bones DVD with no extras, the film is not letterboxed and it contains that very low "phantom" audio track in the background during some scenes (this audio glitch was on IMAGE's laserdisc as well, but not on the original VHS release from TRIBORO). It's a subtle problem, however. I guess it's nice they released it at all, but they could spend a little more time and effort in their releases. The folks over at IMAGE don't seem to really care much about pleasing their audience....or maybe it's just laziness.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves CULT Status - a true Horror film with Style.
Review: Garth Maxwell now directs lots of XENA episodes, but he made this great little New Zealand horror masterpiece several years earlier. It's a unique exercise in stylish mood and character. Alexis Arquette and Sarah Kennedy play brother and sister separated from each other as young children. Arquette ends up with an abusive family with 3 weird look-a-like "goth" sisters. What will Arquette do to survive the abuse from his new Mom and Pop and siblings? ---create a weird electrical - candle fused machine that can hypnotize and give him the chance to wreak revenge. It may sound ridiculous, but director Maxwell handles it as a mood-piece, almost like a fairy-tale, and it works. Eventually Arquette finds his sister which leads to their search for their abandoning mother. They're also being chased by the 3 "goth" sisters...which ends in a haunting finale. A great little horror film for fans who hate mainstream stuff like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer". As far as the DVD goes, it's a mixed bag. Unfortunately, IMAGE ENT. once again released a bare-bones DVD with no extras, the film is not letterboxed and it contains that very low "phantom" audio track in the background during some scenes (this audio glitch was on IMAGE's laserdisc as well, but not on the original VHS release from TRIBORO). It's a subtle problem, however. I guess it's nice they released it at all, but they could spend a little more time and effort in their releases. The folks over at IMAGE don't seem to really care much about pleasing their audience....or maybe it's just laziness.

Rating:
Summary: Jack Be Fumbled
Review: Glum film tries too hard as adopted blood siblings reunite later in life. He has a hypnotizing machine, an attitude, and four angry sisters after him, she is psychic and pregnant. Brooding and dark, dull and silly.

Rating:
Summary: Jack Be Fumbled
Review: Glum film tries too hard as adopted blood siblings reunite later in life. He has a hypnotizing machine, an attitude, and four angry sisters after him, she is psychic and pregnant. Brooding and dark, dull and silly.

Rating:
Summary: story is good but VHS transfer is unacceptable
Review: I got a VHS copy of this from Amazon and it is recorded in "EP" (the middle speed on your VCR, and some VCRs won't even play EP tapes). The tracking was all over the place (distorting the picture AND sound), so even if you got it right, a few minutes later it would change....VERY annoying distraction! There is a DVD version out there, but it is way overpriced right now.

Rating:
Summary: story is good but VHS transfer is unacceptable
Review: I got a VHS copy of this from Amazon and it is recorded in "EP" (the middle speed on your VCR, and some VCRs won't even play EP tapes). The tracking was all over the place (distorting the picture AND sound), so even if you got it right, a few minutes later it would change....VERY annoying distraction! There is a DVD version out there, but it is way overpriced right now.

Rating:
Summary: story is good but VHS transfer is unacceptable
Review: I got a VHS copy of this from Amazon and it is recorded in "EP" (the middle speed on your VCR, and some VCRs won't even play EP tapes). The tracking was all over the place (distorting the picture AND sound), so even if you got it right, a few minutes later it would change....VERY annoying distraction! There is a DVD version out there, but it is way overpriced right now.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer brilliance
Review: I tuned in to Jack Be Nimble when it was on TV today, & I was blown away by Alexis Arquette's acting ability. I've read some reviews saying it was a dissapointment because it wasn't a supernatural gothic horror film with ghosts & goblins, but Arquette's character was so real & memorable I truly felt what he felt throughout the film. I'm rarely touched by movies, which is why I wanted to write this review. I'm a tough critic, believe it or not, being someone who has studied dramatic arts for years, & although this psychological thriller had its weak assets, Arquette's performance was nothing short of sheer brillance.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer brilliance
Review: I tuned in to Jack Be Nimble when it was on TV today, & I was blown away by Alexis Arquette's acting ability. I've read some reviews saying it was a dissapointment because it wasn't a supernatural gothic horror film with ghosts & goblins, but Arquette's character was so real & memorable I truly felt what he felt throughout the film. I'm rarely touched by movies, which is why I wanted to write this review. I'm a tough critic, believe it or not, being someone who has studied dramatic arts for years, & although this psychological thriller had its weak assets, Arquette's performance was nothing short of sheer brillance.