Joe Dante is a legend in the film business but there are a few titles I have not heard of, Matinee is one of these films. Matinee was released in 1993, placing the film after Dante's huge hits with Gremlins and Gremlins 2 however this film slipped under the radar a little.
Matinee is Dante's homage to the B-Movie genre and follows the preview screening of Mant! from horror director Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman - Monsters INC, Rosanne) at a costal town cinema during the Cuban missile crisis. the films follows military teen Gene (Simon Fenton - Grange Hill) and his little brother who are huge fans of the work of Woolsey. Gene and his friends pile into the screening but a series for unfortunate events aim the bring down the evening.
This is the perfect homage to the low budget horror films of yesteryear but this isn't a horror film, so if you go into the film wanting that you may be a little disappointed. Matinee is a celebration of cinema's secret child, the type of films Trumbo made when he was black listed. John Goodman was great as the Hitchcock wannabe Lawrence Woolsey, a nice guy wanting to make scary movies. The film Mant! is also very funny, with intentional bad acting and an over the top story which, thanks to the special features on this Blu-ray, you get to watch. It is crazy this film came out in the early 90's, the film as an 80's edge about it visually even though the film is set in the 60's. The film also stars Lisa Jakub, who made her name in the 1993, the same year as this film was release funnily enough, in Mrs Doubtfire.
Matinee was a fun little film which would be a great watch for all the family. This version has some great special features including Mant! with a forward from Joe Dante, some behind the scenes features, deleted and extended scenes and more from Dante. A must buy.
Matinee is Dante's homage to the B-Movie genre and follows the preview screening of Mant! from horror director Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman - Monsters INC, Rosanne) at a costal town cinema during the Cuban missile crisis. the films follows military teen Gene (Simon Fenton - Grange Hill) and his little brother who are huge fans of the work of Woolsey. Gene and his friends pile into the screening but a series for unfortunate events aim the bring down the evening.
This is the perfect homage to the low budget horror films of yesteryear but this isn't a horror film, so if you go into the film wanting that you may be a little disappointed. Matinee is a celebration of cinema's secret child, the type of films Trumbo made when he was black listed. John Goodman was great as the Hitchcock wannabe Lawrence Woolsey, a nice guy wanting to make scary movies. The film Mant! is also very funny, with intentional bad acting and an over the top story which, thanks to the special features on this Blu-ray, you get to watch. It is crazy this film came out in the early 90's, the film as an 80's edge about it visually even though the film is set in the 60's. The film also stars Lisa Jakub, who made her name in the 1993, the same year as this film was release funnily enough, in Mrs Doubtfire.
Matinee was a fun little film which would be a great watch for all the family. This version has some great special features including Mant! with a forward from Joe Dante, some behind the scenes features, deleted and extended scenes and more from Dante. A must buy.
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