Army of Darkness:
I am really quite conflicted about this film. On one hand, the midway part of the film, the meat of it, surpasses anything Raimi did in the first two films. On the other hand, the beginning and ending fall unbelievably short. Why I sat through the final thirty-or-so minutes of the film was out of respect for Raimi and hope that he would turn it around yet. But it never returned to form in those waning minutes.
Even so, I cannot ignore the unadulterated cinematic brilliance contained within this film. Flawed, it is. That I can say without a doubt. Yet, blemishes and all, it stands as my favorite of the trilogy.
Re-Animator:
Deadpan humor this film is, but only to a point. As in one moment in the film. One involving, ironically, a severed head and a pan. A scene I nearly avoided, too. 45 minutes in, I'd had enough and decided I'd be better off skimming the remaining 40 minutes to see if my decision might be premature. Felt those 40 minutes looked promising enough and pushed on. Only for a couple more minutes, though. Couldn't even hold out long enough for the infamous cunnilingus scene.
Oh, and if it came out that the sounds of the re-animated cat were done by one of the filmmaker's little kids, I'd not be surprised in the least.
And I'll leave it there.
