From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jan 30 16:33:14 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed5.telia.com!masternews.telia.net!fci-se!fci!fu-berlin.de!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: David Sunga Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Star Kid (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 19 Jan 1998 19:39:20 GMT Organization: The Critic Zoo Lines: 52 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6a0a58$j98$1@nntp5.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: zookeeper@criticzoo.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer17.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp5.u.washington.edu 885238760 19752 (None) 140.142.64.1 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #10637 Keywords: author=sunga X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer17.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:10011 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1737 STAR KID (1997) Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga Directed by: Manny Coto Written by: Manny Coto Starring: Joseph Mazzello, Arthur Burghard, Alex Daniels Ingredients: Preteen boy who is underconfident, talking armored cybersuit from outer space, evil space monster Synopsis: Spence (Joseph Mazzello) is a young kid who doesn't have much confidence. He is too shy to talk to the girl he has a crush on. He lets a school bully harrass him. He is afraid of spiders. His dad doesn't pay enough attention to him. His sister thinks he's a fungus. One day Spence befriends a talking armored cybersuit named Cy that aliens from outer space have stashed on earth for safekeeping. Wearing the cybersuit gives Spence super powers. At first Spence use the suit to scare the bully and to spy on the love of his life. But when an evil space monster called the Brood Warrior kidnaps Cy, Spence must overcome his many insecurities, rescue Cy, and defeat the Brood Warrior. Opinion: The bad news is that for an adult this film would be totally predictable, and the fight scene at the end would be ten minutes too long. But the good news is that STAR KID represents the fantasy of almost every young boy from age 5 to age 12, and it is squeaky clean in terms of lacking bloodshed, swear words, or frightening material. In other words, parents, if you want to score quick brownie points with your male youngster, take him to this movie and call it family hour. Reviewed by David Sunga January 16, 1998 Copyright © 1998 This review and others like it can be found at THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jan 30 16:33:23 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!solace!xinit!newsfeed5.telia.com!masternews.telia.net!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!bofh.vszbr.cz!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Matt Williams Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Star Kid (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 24 Jan 1998 05:48:21 GMT Organization: None Lines: 64 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6abvb5$j82$1@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer12.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp5.u.washington.edu 885620902 19714 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #10728 Keywords: author=williams X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer12.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:9963 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1734 STAR KID A film review by Matt Williams RATING: * * out of * * * * Star Kid is a low budget children's sci-fi superhero action film, and it's not nearly as bad as that sounds. Spencer Griffith (Joseph Mazzello) is your typical wimpish seventh grader: picked upon his mean older sister (Ashlee Levich) and schoolyard bully Turbo (Joey Simmrin), and without the guts to speak with the girl who has captured his heart (Lauren Eckstrom). His life is changed when he discovers a spaceship which has landed in the local auto dump. It's passenger: a robotic armored suit (the Cyborsuit, aka Cy) (voiced by Arthur Burghardt, and moved about by Alex Daniels). It was launched into space by the friendly and resourceful Trelkans to avoid its capture by the evil Brood Warriors. Soon, Spencer climbs inside and becomes a superhero! At first, he uses the suit to wreak revenge upon those who tormented him when he was a weakling (particularly Turbo, the bully). However, soon a Brood Warrior comes to Earth to claim the cyborsuit, and Spencer must battle him to save his life and all mankind. Mazzello is appealling as the title character, but most of his work is simply reaction shots and voice-overs once he's inside the suit. Star Kid is a mixed bag of design ideas. On the plus side, the Brood Warrior has an interesting little habit of pulling off various symbiotic parts of itself to use as tools or weapons. Also, there's a lot of background information going on whenever we're treated to a view through the Cyborsuit's display. The clever little subroutines are similar to a junior version of the Terminator's POV. However, there are many flaws to Star Kid's designs as well. The Trelkans, with their small stature and big (acne-ridden?) heads, don't make for very inspiring good guys. And the Cyborsuit seems to be a bit too human-ish (how would the big-headed Trelkans ever fit inside???) One of the things which works against the movie is its cheapness. For example, the metallic cyborsuit looks positively rubbery. And the Brood Warrior looks your generic Power Rangers foe. It's hard to believe that any kid who has been exposed to modern movie-making magic will be awed by the FX here. Still for that kid who can suspend enough disbelief, the film does have its charms. Adults might be more concerned about the sheer amount of household damage Spencer does in his Cyborsuit and in battle. Strangely, the adults in the film seem to be stunned, but laugh off what seems to amount to damage in the tens of thousands of dollars... And considering that this movie could have been as bad as a random Power Ranger clone, it doesn't actually turn out that bad. Copyright 1998 Matt Williams - Matt Williams (matt@shreck.com) Reviewer for Shreck's Cinema: http://www.shreck.com Home of over 500 reviews, and information on over 500 upcoming releases From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jan 30 16:34:09 1998 From: "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Star Kid (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 27 Jan 1998 06:05:52 GMT Organization: http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies Lines: 76 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ajtg0$5v2$1@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer30.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp5.u.washington.edu 885881152 6114 (None) 140.142.64.1 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #10773 Keywords: author=atcheson X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer30.u.washington.edu Path: news.ifm.liu.se!genius.dat.hk-r.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!news-peer-east.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:9996 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1736 Star Kid (1998) Director: Manny Coto Cast: Joseph Mazzello, Richard Gilliland, Ashlee Levitch, Crinne Bohrer, Joey Simmrin Rated PG: cartoon violence by Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net) As sick as it may sound, my New Year's resolution was to see every film that opens in 1998. I didn't really think about some of the films I might find myself sitting through, or what the experience would do to me. So, imagine my state of mind as I sat alone in a theater, waiting for Star Kid to begin. As mothers and fathers with their young children began coming in, I couldn't recall a moment in time when I had felt more out of place. Lucky for me the theater was very dark. But that's irrelevant, I guess. I just wanted to share my theater experience. A more important note about me is that I tend to deplore any and all films intended for children. I find them overly silly, banal, and usually thoughtless about their own subject matter. Star Kid, although clearly not intended for adults, is quite a surprise. Not only did I find it somewhat entertaining, but it seems an appropriate kind of film for today's younger generation (the ones that haven't been exposed to a lot of violence and gore already). The themes are all in place, and the simple fact is that it's a pleasant little film. Joseph Mazzello stars as Spencer, an intelligent young boy who has no confidence in himself. He frequently gets harassed by the local bully, and he can't speak a coherent sentence to a girl that he really likes. He also has to deal with his father, who spends more time at work than he does anywhere else, and his mean older sister who threatens him and calls him names. One night while sitting in his bedroom, he sees a flash of light and an object crashing into the local car dump. He goes to investigate and finds Cy, a cybernetic suit that requires a bionic host to operate. Naturally, he finds this very cool, and jumps right in. At first he just uses the suit to get back at the bully and to prove to people that he is powerful. In the process of doing so he accidentally destroys two houses because the suit is difficult to control. Later, though, he uncovers an alien plot--he must stop them from getting a hold of Cy, or Cy's makers and their planet will be destroyed, as will Earth in the long run. I think what made the film for me is the performance of Joseph Mazzello. I can't think of a child performance that is more convincing than this one. Especially in one scene where Cy shows him memories of his mother, Mazzello proves that he has a rare talent for such a young kid. I also enjoyed the film because it's energetic and creative, which is just what kids these days need to get the blood flowing. There are, however, numerous Terminator 2 rip-offs (and some scenes stolen directly from that film), but they're so blatant that I imagine the writers intended for fans to notice these things. The sets and costumes are all well done (except for a really bad-looking B-movie alien), and the film feels well-made overall. It probably won't change your life, but Star Kid has enough in it to keep your attention as your kids revel in the special effects and the visual presentation. This is certainly a refreshing entry into the dubious "kid" genre, and maybe I won't be so wary of a film like this in the future. >From 0-10: 7 Grade: B ************/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************ Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies Nathaniel R. Atcheson ************/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************