Rating: Summary: Plumed serpent Review: A small-time crook finds himself on the wrong end of the Mob but then stumbles upon the nest of a huge flying creature which treats people the way blackbirds treat earthworms. A great film with plenty of interesting characters, monster-rampage action and humrous little touches, not to mention fascinating insights into Aztec mythology. Certainly a cut above the trash that passes for monster movies these days.
Rating: Summary: BIG Review: After being fired from directing I, The Jury, Larry Cohen bounced back with his independant low budget monster movie, Q. Cohen also had a bit of revenge on his former employers coz Q did much better at the box office than I, The Jury. Cohen's film is a wonderful homage to the giant monster films of the 50s and 60s. Basically it's a giant lizard/bird flying around New York eating whoever it can. There's also some wacky priest-type guy making human sacrifices to the thing. Whether this bird magically appeared because of the sacrifices, or if it's just an ancient creature, mistaken for a god, that has happened to come out of hiding is up to you to guess. Both scenarios are hinted at. David Carradine and Richard Roundtree take on the bird and sacrifice cases while thief Michael Moriarty bungles a robbery and finds out where the bird lives. Eventually these characters join forces. This is a B movie naturally, but Cohen has always had a talent for making very good B films-B+ films if you like. He's always able to make the most of his budget. The bird is a fake looking stop motion creation, but it doesn't matter coz Cohen is so good with the characterization and plot that it makes no difference if we ever see the creature at all! Can you say that about a billion dollar Roland Emmerich cgi monster crapfest? No way, Jose!!! Q is an extremely fun film. You know it has to be if my wife enjoyed it. Good performances all around as well(Cohen says in the commentary he considered no-names Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy for the leads!!), especially David Carradine, who's actually quite good as the cop. He has one of the funniest lines as the police fire upon the monster from the top of a skyscraper. He looks at his partner and says with a smile, "Big!" Another winner from Blue Underground.
Rating: Summary: BEWARE! This version DOESNT have the original ending! Review: ANCHOR BAY DOES IT AGAIN! THEY GOOFED! With Anchor Bay famous for restoring cut scenes, for giving you bonuses like alternate ending or deleted scene, I was HORRIFIED to see that despite the new widescreen transfer, they failed to restore the original theatrical ending! When i saw this at the theatres, the film ended with a message telling you what happened to Michael Moriarity's character. BUT when it came out on MCA videos and on Showtime, the message scene was cut out. But when it played on HBO and CINEMAX, and syndicated TV, it was in. So I figured Anchor Bay will restore it, but they didnt! So if you still hvae the old cable, or even the syndicated TV print, DONT ERASE IT!
Rating: Summary: Q: Gets Better with Each Viewing Review: By the end of the 1950s, the Big Monster genre had died out. Instead, Hollywood switched to slasher flicks and one on one mutant creatures. It took some creative courage for director Larry Cohen to attempt to revive it with his surprisingly effective tale of a reincarnated Aztec flying serpent. In Q, Michael Moriarity proves his resiliency that would later come in handy in IT'S ALIVE in his role as Jimmy Quinn, a jazz-playing small-time hood who steals diamonds when not busy pounding piano keys. By luck, he stumbles on the brood nest of a huge flying serpent that is somehow connected to a series of ritualistic killings in which a modern Aztec shaman deskins his willing victims. This is the weak part of the film since it is not clear how the killings by the shaman relate to the killings by the serpent. The police, led by David Carradine and Richard Roundtree, at first disbelieve, then later actively seek the creature in a climactic battle atop the Chrysler Building. Q harkens back to the glory years when both Hollywood and Tokyo regularly released films that featured the squashing flat of cities populated by panic-stricken residents who seem unable to dodge mountains of building rubble falling on their heads. What Director Cohen has done is to create a believable monster that JAWS-like, permits the audience to see the victims from the creature's own perspective. Further, the creepy over the top acting of Moriarity is perfect as the hood who has suffered from a life-long lack of respect, and in his opportunity to get the credit for bagging Q, now is sure that his ship has come in. He grins, rolls in eyes, bewails his fate, but beneath his antics, one can clearly see the hurt that has accumulated over the years. When a detective asks him if he feels any pity for a victim who might have been saved had Quinn acted sooner to reveal Q's whereabouts, he replies, 'I have pity for the next victim and the one after that.' Such honesty is refreshing in both movies and life itself. This honesty, coupled with the fun and zest of the cast and crew, is what makes Q a special treat to savor when a later generation of Jasons and Freddies bore, rather than scare, audiences to death.
Rating: Summary: Q: Gets Better with Each Viewing Review: By the end of the 1950s, the Big Monster genre had died out. Instead, Hollywood switched to slasher flicks and one on one mutant creatures. It took some creative courage for director Larry Cohen to attempt to revive it with his surprisingly effective tale of a reincarnated Aztec flying serpent. In Q, Michael Moriarity proves his resiliency that would later come in handy in IT'S ALIVE in his role as Jimmy Quinn, a jazz-playing small-time hood who steals diamonds when not busy pounding piano keys. By luck, he stumbles on the brood nest of a huge flying serpent that is somehow connected to a series of ritualistic killings in which a modern Aztec shaman deskins his willing victims. This is the weak part of the film since it is not clear how the killings by the shaman relate to the killings by the serpent. The police, led by David Carradine and Richard Roundtree, at first disbelieve, then later actively seek the creature in a climactic battle atop the Chrysler Building. Q harkens back to the glory years when both Hollywood and Tokyo regularly released films that featured the squashing flat of cities populated by panic-stricken residents who seem unable to dodge mountains of building rubble falling on their heads. What Director Cohen has done is to create a believable monster that JAWS-like, permits the audience to see the victims from the creature's own perspective. Further, the creepy over the top acting of Moriarity is perfect as the hood who has suffered from a life-long lack of respect, and in his opportunity to get the credit for bagging Q, now is sure that his ship has come in. He grins, rolls in eyes, bewails his fate, but beneath his antics, one can clearly see the hurt that has accumulated over the years. When a detective asks him if he feels any pity for a victim who might have been saved had Quinn acted sooner to reveal Q's whereabouts, he replies, 'I have pity for the next victim and the one after that.' Such honesty is refreshing in both movies and life itself. This honesty, coupled with the fun and zest of the cast and crew, is what makes Q a special treat to savor when a later generation of Jasons and Freddies bore, rather than scare, audiences to death.
Rating: Summary: Not bad 'tall Review: Cute little film, half horror and half humor (they always seem to go together, for some reason), about a flying Aztec serpert living at the top of a skyscraper. 'Course, he eats people. Moriarity is the one who makes the film, with ihs crazy, wound-up character. Certainly nothing great, but I enjoyed it, and you probably will, too.
Rating: Summary: There are better effects in a Godzilla movie..... Review: I first saw this movie 19 years ago, and brother it was awful. I thought it was a cheap add for shaving cream, it was amazing to discover it was an actual film. What were they thinking? Give me Godzilla any day please...
Rating: Summary: Not bad.... not bad atall Review: I first saw this movie when I was about three years old. At that time, this movie was like, "WHOA!!" Now, after seeing movies like The Relic and Mimic, I look back on this movie and say, "How simplistic and primitive we were..." This movie had a good plot and story, character developement for some people was a bit dry (the main character had the only good developement really) and the monster was actually pretty cool for a freeze-frame animated one. Needless to say, if this movie were remade with a little more character developement, a better soundtrack (they would HAVE TO throw Megadeth in on that one), and a computer rendered monster instead, then this movie would rule.
Rating: Summary: Horror In The Sky Review: I remember seeing this film when I was 7 or 8 years old and it scared me senseless. Seeing people getting their heads chopped off and mutalated from who knows what that flies around a big city gave me an uneasy eerie feeling. I didn't know what the name of this movie was and I was looking for it in the video stores. I stumbled onto this accidentally and taking my chances of this being the dragon in the sky killing people movie that I saw 20 years ago, I bought it. After seeing it again, this is the movie that scared me to death so many years ago. Though, by today's standards, this movie is rather cheap and cheesy, it still gave me that uneasy eerie feeling. This movie is original, having a flying dragon that is summoned by ritual killings, that eats people like birds eat worms. This movie is a hybrid of Godzilla and slasher flicks. This is definately B-movie material, but it's fun to watch and brings back some childhood memories... and that is worth more than the price of admission.
Rating: Summary: Horror In The Sky Review: I remember seeing this film when I was 7 or 8 years old and it scared me senseless. Seeing people getting their heads chopped off and mutalated from who knows what that flies around a big city gave me an uneasy eerie feeling. I didn't know what the name of this movie was and I was looking for it in the video stores. I stumbled onto this accidentally and taking my chances of this being the dragon in the sky killing people movie that I saw 20 years ago, I bought it. After seeing it again, this is the movie that scared me to death so many years ago. Though, by today's standards, this movie is rather cheap and cheesy, it still gave me that uneasy eerie feeling. This movie is original, having a flying dragon that is summoned by ritual killings, that eats people like birds eat worms. This movie is a hybrid of Godzilla and slasher flicks. This is definately B-movie material, but it's fun to watch and brings back some childhood memories... and that is worth more than the price of admission.
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