Jackson started out as a zany genre director with a unique knack for over-the-top horror and comedy, but slowly turned into a run-of-the-mill blockbuster helmer. I love old Jackson, couldn't care less about his more recent work.
Movies
This is one of the most fun-filled films I've ever seen, one of the few contenders to the current Japanese splatter wave and one of my all-time favorite horror flicks.
Smack in the middle of his two horror masterpieces, Peter Jackson directed this little oddity. It's a vulgar take on The Muppet Show, but that's where the fun lies. Rather than look at some wholesome and cute puppets, these abominations come with juicy accents and crude behavior. The idea is solid and there are some memorable moments scattered throughout, but its low-budget roots shine through once too often and some jokes are a little too easy. It does build up to a very worthy finale, where all characters come out guns blazing, but it's not quite the masterpiece I remembered it to be. It's still a lot of fun though.Read all
Peter Jackson's first film has undoubtedly aged a lot, but the sheer joy and energy keeps it from slipping completely. There's a lot to love here and gore fans will have a field day with Bad Taste, it's just a bit tougher to love when you can grab Braindead and have everything this film has to offer, times two. The gore is insane, the performances are fun, the comedy hits the mark and the pacing is perfect. It's been ages since I last watched Bad Taste, but a lot of it was still fresh. Still, the execution is really bare-bones and even though Jackson's talent overcomes some budgetary limitations, it's just not quite a personal favorite anymore. Great fun though.Read all
In a rather interesting twist, Peter Jackson (the man best known for either his shlocky horror or huge blockbusters films) turned in a documentary focusing on World War I. There have been hundreds of those already and it's fair to wonder where the added value of this documentary lies, but it wouldn't be Jackson without a trick or two up his sleeve. The big sell here is the restored footage. We're so used to seeing crummy, sped up black and white footage of the past that it's almost a shock to see real, historical footage in full color and without all the jittery decay. It's a nice reminder that our history was actually in color instead of grainy black and white. While this restored footage is impressive, it's not there for the entire runtime and the rest of the documentary is made up of personal recollections on top of regular black and while historic recordings. While impressive in its own right, I've heard these stories so many times before that they do feel somewhat superfluous. This would've been better if it was half the length.Read all
