From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Mar 22 13:22:18 1992 Xref: herkules.sssab.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:572 rec.arts.sf.reviews:61 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!kth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!bloom-beacon!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: leeper@mtgzy.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: LAWNMOWER MAN Summary: r.a.m.r. #01283 Keywords: author=Leeper Message-ID: <1992Mar18.182546.20026@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> Date: 18 Mar 92 18:25:46 GMT Sender: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Reply-To: leeper@mtgzy.att.com Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ Lines: 58 Approved: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com [Followups directed to rec.arts.sf.movies. -Moderator] LAWNMOWER MAN A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1992 Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: In LAWNMOWER MAN, a mix of virtual reality and mind-expanding drugs turn a mentally retarded handyman into a psychic monster. The film borrows heavily from ALTERED STATES, FORBIDDEN PLANET, and CHARLY, and pays back in some nice computer graphics and an over-used revenge plot. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4). Dr. Lawrence Angelo (played by Pierce Brosnan) is one more Stephen King character being exploited by the evil government intelligence agency "The Shop." His experiments with drug-enhancing virtual reality not only make the effect more complete, it may actually be raising the intelligence of his chimpanzee subject. Unfortunately, the chimp does not want to find out. The ape picks the lock of his cage and is killed walking to freedom, zapping humans as he goes. Angelo continues with Jobe (Played by Jeff Fahey), a mentally retarded lawn man. In over-used King style (perhaps "pseudo-King" since King had little to do with the story in the film), Jobe lives in a world of people willing to torment him because he is so powerless. If only he had the intelligence and power to get back at his tormenters. But then the brain boost he is getting from the ultimate video game and psycho-active drugs starts giving him a super intellect as well as telekinetic powers. As Angelo's wife tells him early in the film, "It may be the future to you, Larry, but it's the same old shit to me." She obviously knows her Stephen King films. Other lines seem downright silly. "He learned Latin in two hours! It took me a year to learn the Latin alphabet." That may well be true, Larry, but I assume you were about four years old at the time. If the plot is overly predictable--and believe me, it is--the computer graphics are spectacular. They may not always make sense. Jobe's new girlfriend sneaks into the lab to try the virtual reality equipment. While she appears to be the first woman who has been in the lab, the computer knows to visualize her virtual reality body as a female. The computer visuals make one wish this film had been shot in 3-D. Even shot flat, the visuals are quite a trip. The screenplay is loosely based on the short story by Stephen King. (No, let me correct that: it is tightly based on a Stephen King story title. It has virtually nothing to do with King's story of a lawnman who worships the God Pan.) It was written by the director Brett Lawrence and the producer Gimel Everett. It is dedicated to the memory of the co-producer, the late Milton Subotsky. Those of you who are fans of British horror film will remember some classics, particularly anthology films such as THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, ASYLUM, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, and BEYOND THE GRAVE that were co-produced in the 1960s by Subotsky for his production company Amicus Films. His last film was typical for him: entertaining but not heavy on thought. I would rate LAWNMOWER MAN a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. Mark R. Leeper att!mtgzy!leeper leeper@mtgzy.att.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Mar 22 13:22:21 1992 Xref: herkules.sssab.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:573 rec.arts.sf.reviews:62 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!kth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!bloom-beacon!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: Sarah_M._Elkins.Wbst139@xerox.com (Sarah M. Elkins) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: LAWNMOWER MAN Summary: r.a.m.r. #01284 Keywords: author=Elkins Message-ID: <1992Mar18.182657.20135@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> Date: 18 Mar 92 18:26:57 GMT Sender: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Reply-To: Sarah_M._Elkins.Wbst139@xerox.com (Sarah M. Elkins) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Organization: Xerox Corporation Lines: 63 Approved: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com [Followups directed to rec.arts.sf.movies. -Moderator] LAWNMOWER MAN A film review by Sarah M. Elkins Copyright 1992 Sarah M. Elkins LAWNMOWER MAN: Combines some stock elements with the new idea of virtual reality (VR) to make an enjoyable SF/action/horror flick. PLOT/KICKOFF: While on hiatus from his job with a military-oriented research company involving the new technology of virtual reality (cyberspace imaging, using computers to 'project' an interactive reality to users), Dr. Larry Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) starts his own special experiment to increase the intelligence of the man (Jeff Fahey?) who mows his lawn. Things start to go wrong as the experiment has unexpected results and Angelo's company gets interested in the military potential of the new line of research. CHARACTERS/ACTING: Brosnan is fine as the borderline-obsessed-with-his- work scientist (not too interested in "informed consent"), and Fahey is fine showing the transformation of the gradually-getting-smarter lawnmower man. Most of the rest of the characters don't have much depth. I wasn't sure until three-quarters of the movie was done whether the blond woman was actually one or two different characters/actresses (the answer is two). However, all the characters who got involved in VR did good jobs making those parts of the movie believable. CINEMATOGRAPHY/FX: I've seen bits on 20/20 and elsewhere showing the use of virtual reality, but this movie had some of the longest segments I've ever seen. The segments were well-done, but none of them were mind-blowing for me. People who have not tried to keep up with what's going on with VR, or who haven't seen much computer animation (from recent animated film festivals, etc.) lately may find it amazing. The movie did pretty well at showing what the VR experience might be like for people actually immersed in VR instead of those just watching it on-screen. The transition between ordinary and virtual reality was done well in every case. This is probably a better movie for big-screen than small-screen viewing. SCORE: I didn't notice it. VIOLENCE/GORE: Belt-whipping, some domestic violence, bullets flying, implied violent death, bodies disassembling (VR, not gory). LANGUAGE: Some profanity, not extreme. SKIN/SITUATIONS: Some foreplay, dancing in the sheets, VR sex (not graphic, pretty in its way). ANALYSIS: I understand this movie was loosely based on a Stephen King short story (no virtual reality involved). I haven't read it, so can't comment on that aspect of the movie. I enjoyed this movie, though not as much as I had hoped to. There really was not all that much original to it except VR, but there were a few nice small touches in it. One thing I liked particularly was that this movie *showed* me what was going on, instead of always *telling* me. It did not patronize the audience. Although some might argue with the believability of the side effects of the VR research, I put that down to the "neurotropic drugs" and left it at that. I think it could have been a better movie, but it is probably worth watching for people interested in VR and cyberpunk, and others who want to check out the special effects. - Sarah From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Apr 6 09:15:15 1992 Xref: herkules.sssab.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:580 rec.arts.sf.reviews:63 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!ugle.unit.no!nuug!ifi.uio.no!kth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!bloom-beacon!micro-heart-of-gold.mit.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE LAWNMOWER MAN Summary: r.a.m.r. #01302 Keywords: author=K.Johnson Message-ID: <1992Mar31.151601.11723@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> Date: 31 Mar 92 15:16:01 GMT Sender: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Organization: ? Lines: 59 Approved: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com [Followups directed to rec.arts.sf.movies. -Moderator] THE LAWNMOWER MAN A film review by Ken Johnson Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson 144 min., R, Science Fiction/Horror, 1992 Director: Brett Leonard Cast: Jeff Fahey, Pierce Bronsnan, Jenny Wright, Geoffrey Lewis Pierce Bronsnan is a scientist who is working on Virtual Reality, which is a simulator that opens you up to a computerized dimension. He has been using monkeys for these experiments, but now he wants to use a human to see what the effect would be. Mentally retarded Jeff Fahey is Bronsnan's lawnmower man. Fahey loves to play with Bronsnan's computer simulators. Bronsnan starts using Fahey for his experiments, without telling him what he is doing, and with disastrous results. THE LAWNMOWER MAN is a combination of science fiction and horror, mostly the science fiction though. It uses the new technology of Virtual Reality, which I don't know too much about. It has some wonderful computer animation (I'll get back to this later), good special effects, and a good plot. On a scale of zero to five, I give THE LAWNMOWER MAN a four. THE LAWNMOWER MAN is rated R for explicit language, violence, adult situations, and brief female nudity. THE LAWNMOWER MAN is one of two Stephen King films coming to the theaters in the next few months. The other film of his is called SLEEPWALKERS (Columbia Pictures) and is scheduled to be released on April 10. THE LAWNMOWER MAN has been released by New Line Cinema and is "based" on a short story by Stephen King. A small hint of Stephen King's short story shows up towards the end of the film, but other than that, THE LAWNMOWER MAN has nothing to do with Stephen King's short story. In fact, Stephen King's short story has nothing to do with Virtual Reality at all. The Virtual Reality segments are done with computer graphics and are very well done. The way that the colors and the shapes all blend together makes THE LAWNMOWER MAN seem different than most other horror movies. The Virtual Reality segments make the film almost an art film, for the Virtual Reality takes up most of the film. If all that you are interested in is the Virtual Reality segments, it might make it more worth your money to go see a matinee. This film definitely won't hold up very well on video. The one thing that really upsets me about THE LAWNMOWER MAN is that both the advertisements for the film, and the film itself, state right on the title "Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man." Yet barely any of the film is actually "Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man"; most of it is just "The Lawnmower Man." I get upset when a film states that it is taken from a certain person's work and isn't, like "Edgar Allan Poe's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM." Some Stephen King films have been direct translations of the novel, like IT and CARRIE. Others like THE LAWNMOWER MAN and THE RUNNING MAN have very little to do with the novel. I feel such movies should say "Inspired by the Stephen King short story THE LAWNMOWER MAN" or something like that. Ken J. blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu From rec.arts.sf-reviews Mon Nov 9 00:42:50 1992 Xref: isy rec.arts.movies.reviews:817 rec.arts.sf.reviews:105 Path: isy!liuida!sunic2!mcsun!uknet!stl!bnrgate!corpgate!news.utdallas.edu!wupost!uwm.edu!linac!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au (Murray Chapman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: THE LAWNMOWER MAN Summary: r.a.m.r. #01387 Keywords: author=Chapman Message-ID: <1992Jun3.002506.3057@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> Date: 3 Jun 92 00:25:06 GMT Sender: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Reply-To: muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au (Murray Chapman) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Organization: ? Lines: 47 Approved: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com [Followups directed to rec.arts.sf.movies. -Moderator] THE LAWNMOWER MAN A film review by Murray Chapman Copyright 1992 Murray Chapman I saw "Stephen King's THE LAWNMOWER MAN" yesterday. Unfortunately, it looks like yet another Stephen King project has made a mediocre movie. This movie is about research into virtual reality and intelligence enhancement. Resident Mad Scientist Pierce Brosnan takes the lovable and retarded man who mows his lawn and tries to increase his intelligence. The movie's computer generated scenes are visually stunning, however the movie is so seriously flawed in other areas that I found myself squirming every time they switched to real life action. The sets were dark and gloomy--I am surprised that nobody tripped over the equipment which littered the lab. The dialogue was *obviously* re-recorded: two characters talking in a large concrete room should have some sort of echo, right? The imminent presence of either (a) a supernatural force, or (b) massive computer power is signalled by puffs of smoke and/or flashing lights. No character development. No plot surprises. Plenty of characters with vultures on their shoulders. The only way in which this movie is similar to SK's short story is the fact that there is a Lawnmower Man in it: someone who mows lawns. SK *did not* write the screenplay, nor does his name appear anywhere but in the title. (He was not an executive producer or anything like that.) Virtual reality was handled *much* *much* *much* better in BRAINSTORM. Go and see THE LAWNMOWER MAN if you want ten minutes of stunning computer graphics and 90 minutes of B-grade plot. Stephen King has declared himself an unabashed fan of B-grade movies. Well, he should be just thrilled to bits with this one. It has all of the cliches' of horror films from the 1950's, and likewise degenerates to a predictable apocalyptic ending. Rating: 7 out of 10. (5 + 2 bonus for the SPFX) Murray Chapman muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au