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The Faculty

The Faculty

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Despite cliched plot, fun and eminently watchable
Review: OK, let's start by getting the bad out of the way. The plot of the Faculty is one of the oldest chestnuts in science fiction - the "aliens are taking over the town by stealing people's bodies" schtick. And at several points the script descends into unbelievability - not the suspended disbelief of a good science fiction movie, but the "where the heck did that come from?" disbelief that can often take you right out of the swing of the movie.

Now the good - and there's considerably more of this than of the bad. The script is well-written and witty, and handles the problems mentioned above in stride. As you might expect from a movie written by Kevin Williamson, there's plenty of genre-referential humor and often dry wit. The acting is uniformly good, including several well-known stars (Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Robert Patrick, and Famke Janssen). Some of the lesser-known actors, especially the teen ones, also shined - Clea Duvall as outsider Stokely, Jordana Brewster as popular girl Delilah, and Laura Harris (who at first I thought was Kirsten Dunst) as southern belle Marybeth. The special effects, while still obviously B-movie, are good enough that they don't detract from the film.

The film adeptly uses the motif of an alien invasion as a metaphor for life in high school - for example, the aliens offer the six main teens (the only ones still human in the town) the chance to truly "fit in" by giving up their individuality. By fighting back, the teens confirm their individuality. This device has been used often by Joss Whedon (another noted teen-scribe) in his TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer; fans of that show will probably want to see this film, if for no other reason than Clea "Invisible Girl Marcie" Duvall's starring role.

While the movie suffers from many of your typical sci-fi B movie cliches, the writing and acting deftly overcomes those handicaps and is a stylishly funny combination of sci-fi B movie and teen movie that fans of both genres will enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A 'first class grade A' movie
Review: Visualise a world where authority is shifted from the hands of humans to an entirely diverse species: aliens from another planet. Welcome to Herrington High, where six students are about to face facts that 'aliens have taken over (their) school', where their teachers are now literally brain-dead.

Jordana Brewster is the popular head cheerleader Delilah, Clea DuVall is the goth loner Stokely, Laura Harris is the mysterious newcomer MaryBeth, Josh Hartnett is the rebel leader Zeke, Shawn Hatosy is the star quarterback Stan, and Elijah Wood is the school geek Casey. Together they overcome all odds to maintain order and defeat the nightmarish paranoia and hysteria of a new alien world.

A Miramax International/Dimension Films presentation, directed by Robert Rodriguez and screenplay by Kevin Williamson, 'The Faculty' is 'From Dusk Till Dawn' meets 'Scream', a new science fiction thriller that will bring its audience into an alternate universe where humans are no longer the superiors. Witty, brilliant, and perfect for any sci-fi fans. Not to be missed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good Alien Fun
Review: This movie may not be the most original thing to come out of teen flicks ( then again, name one teen flick that is original, especially when it concerns horror/thriller movies.) The point is, this movie is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. But, it can only be fun if you don't over analyse it. It does have a few story line flaws, but overal it is a really enjoyable experience. Kudos especially to Clea DuVall. She is probablly the only hot girl who you'd buy as a Trekkie. While some of the characters seemed a little too cliche (Jordana Brewsters character, for example) overall it was a bunch who you could safely get invested in. (ALthough Elijah would seemed to play the nerd with alot of personal experience. ALso, fantasticly fun performance by Jon Stewart. ALl the performances were good, and the movie is definatley a fun ride if you just go with it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: School's out...of this world in this fun flick
Review: THE FACULTY is one of those "teen-scream" films that are just meant to provide cheap thrills, and this movie definitely fills the bill. The basic plot concerns alien parasites who take over the faculty of a small Ohio high school and soon practically rule the entire town. Only an odd and small collection of popular and outcast students can save the day. Josh Hartnett as "2nd year in a row" senior Zeke and Elijah Wood as put-upon Casey lead this gallant crew and turn in fine performances. However, it is the talented cast in the faculty roles that really shine. Robert Patrick is appropriately strange as the football coach, while Selma Hayak is amusing as the school nurse nursing a VERY bad cold. While her role is relatively small, Piper Laurie does a chilling turn as the possessed drama coach. Famke Janssen shines as the meek English teacher, who becomes a sex-pot under the alien influence. Bebe Neuwirth (Lillith of CHEERS and FRASIER fame)adds her strong screen presence to the role of school principal. The movie goes at a good clip and keeps the suspense and thrills coming. Overall, this is a fun flick, which I recommend.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: oh my god!!! aliens are in the school!!!
Review: Robert Rodriquez(Director of The 3 Spy Kids movies, Desperado, El Mariachi, Once Upon A Time In Mexico and From Dusk Till Dawn) brings us into the lives of some high school students who find out that their teachers are from another planet, I mean literally. there's geeky Eljah Wood(Ash Wednesday, North), the bad boy Josh Hartnett(Hollywood Homicide, Blow Dry and The Faculty is his second motion ficture he stars in folks, for all you ladyfans out there), rebel girl Clea DuVall(Identity, 13 Conversations About The Same Thing), swimboy Shawn Hatosy(Outside Providence and Down To You), popular girl Jordana Brewster(the 60's), football player Usher Raymond(She's All That and Light IT Up) and the new girl(forgot her name but didnt forget that nude scene though). the teachers include Jon Stewart(Jay and Silent bob Strike Back), Bebe Neuwirth(Tv's Cheers and Fraiser), DAniel Von Bergen(Tv's Malcolm In The Middle), Robert Patrick(Tv's The X-Files, Eye See You), Famke Janssen(MAde and X-Men) and Salma Hayek(Desperado, Once Upon A Time In Mexico and From Dusk Till Dawn, I mean you name a Rodriquez movie she hasnt been in). some good performances, especially by Hartnett, Hatosy and Wood. good writing, but did we have to do that big alien thing at the end. I mean, jeez, but anyway it was a good ride and let me tell you Rodriquez knows how to give you a wild ride with his movies

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: School's out...of this world in this fun flick
Review: THE FACULTY is one of those "teen-scream" films that are just meant to provide cheap thrills, and this movie definitely fills the bill. The basic plot concerns alien parasites who take over the faculty of a small Ohio high school and soon practically rule the entire town. Only an odd and small collection of popular and outcast students can save the day. Josh Hartnett as "2nd year in a row" senior Zeke and Elijah Wood as put-upon Casey lead this gallant crew and turn in fine performances. However, it is the talented cast in the faculty roles that really shine. Robert Patrick is appropriately strange as the football coach, while Selma Hayak is amusing as the school nurse nursing a VERY bad cold. While her role is relatively small, Piper Laurie does a chilling turn as the possessed drama coach. Famke Janssen shines as the meek English teacher, who becomes a sex-pot under the alien influence. Bebe Neuwirth (Lillith of CHEERS and FRASIER fame)adds her strong screen presence to the role of school principal. The movie goes at a good clip and keeps the suspense and thrills coming. Overall, this is a fun flick, which I recommend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TEACHERS PETS?
Review: If you're gonna rip off a classic like INVASION OF BODY SNATCHERS or PUPPET MASTERS, at least do it right...Robert Rodriguez did it right with this stylish and visceral thriller. Blessed with a very talented young cast and some venerable artists, THE FACULTY is fun, furious and frightening. There are some unexpected plot twists, and the terror of being "changed" ever prominent.
The best performances: Piper Laurie, fiercely understated; Shawn Hotosy (an intelligent and sensitive jock); Clea DuVall (Gothicly gorgeous); Robert Patrick (what a manly coach!); and Elijah Wood (destined to become the lord of the rings).
The good performances: Bebe Neuwirth as the red-taped principal; Josh Hartnett as the dropout back to save the day; and Famke Janssen as the sex-deprived teacher who does a remarkable makeover once possessed. Laura Harris (The Calling) is okay, but not great, in her role as newcomer Mary Beth.
The movie moves well and has some high moments of comedy, to boot. Credit to screenwriter Kevin Williamson for this delightfully different, if derivative, horror.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fun little B movie
Review: This movie is enjoyable to watch. It isn't very scary, but you can still sit down and enjoy watching it every now and then.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Quite Fun. Nothing Special.
Review: Don Siegel's original 1956 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", Kaufman's 1978 remake, Ferrara's 1994 version; Carpenter's "The Thing" and "They Live"; sixties TV series "The Invaders";1983 spoof "Strange Invaders", 1994's "Puppet Masters" (based on a 1951 novel by Heinlein that is namechecked here), David Twohy's interesting 1996 variation on the theme, "The Arrival"; no doubt a whole bunch more I don't know about... Then comes 1998 and Robert Rodriguez decides what we all really need is another variant on this now ancient paranoid theme. It's fun and entertaining enough but a pretty disappointing way to follow "From Dusk Till Dawn". While the latter was strikingly original, this is self-consciously derivative. As pretty well every review of it ever written points out it is a mixture of the original "Invasion" (the basic idea), "The Thing" (the transformation scenes, the scenes where the people who claim they're human invest a test for alien-hood) with a touch of "The Breakfast Club" thrown in (in its High School setting with a bunch of very unalike kids (the gorgeous babe, the wierdy loner, the geek, the jock, yep, exactly) forced together who then sort of bond). I say "self-consciously" derivative as Rodruiguez is all too aware of all this and instils, this being the 1990s, a suitably heavy measure of postmodern knowningness. Just as in the "Scream" franchise, the kids here have seen all the movies. In particular Clea DuVall's Stokes, the wierdy loner and science fiction addict (and perhaps the most likeable character) has read all the stories and seen all the films. That makes her, in the film's nicest touch, an amusing variant on Professor van Helsing. It's not some earnest old scholar who knows how to kill monsters these days it seems: the data is all in pulp novels and popular movies and that's what the real experts know about. The plot is simplicity itself of course. Aliens take over the Faculty of a small town overly football-obsessed Ohio high school, starting with Robert Patrick's ultra-mean football coach. Geeky Casey (Elijah Wood), Stokes and four other kids get wise quickly enough to get out and fight back. They either succeed or they fail (I won't spoil it for you). The end. Entertaining enough but leaves with a good measure of that So What feeling.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Why I liked The Faculty
Review: Ok, number one it was Elijah Wood in it. Admittidly this was the only reason I wanted to see it, but then when I did see it I liked it, and not just for Elijah.
This film consists of a group of main characters who are all outsiders in some way at their school. Elijah plays Casey who is the geek, Jordana Brewer plays the object of fancy, Delilah and Josh Hartnett (Peaal Harbour) plays Zeke the dropout who's back etc
Although classified as a horror, the main shock is right at the beginning of the film!! Little shocks throughout, but personally not many by my standards.
The plot is that aliens have landed and are taking over the school, this group of outsiders are the last ones left and have to stop it before it gets out of control. Yet, the twist is that one of the group IS the alien, but who? I good film and I enjoyed it


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