Recent viewings

[Trekkie313]

Just watched Highlander: End Game...what a mess!

[Jack]

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - Some kids at a psychiatric hospital are dreaming of Freddy, and Heather Langenkamp (star of the first movie) is now a psychiatrist, and she uses her expertise on Mr. Kruger to help them.  She's not terribly successful    This wasn't too bad.  Plenty of cool special effects in the dream sequences, and the characters were somewhat interesting.  Personally I would have preferred if it was centered more on the kids in the hospital, as they seemed a lot more interesting than Langenkamp.  It had some interesting plot points, dealing with Freddy's history.  I'm afraid I just can't take Freddy too seriously, he's always being a smartypants and the kills are semi-comedic.  3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

ST. JOHN OF LAS VEGAS (2009): An insurance claims adjuster with a gambling problem is sent to Las Vegas to investigate a wheelchair-bound stripper's car accident.  The gambling addiction makes for a nice hook and the cast is appealing (Steve Buscemi and Sarah Silverman), but it never really comes together as a comedy.  For unclear reasons, there are lots of references to Dante's "Inferno."  2.5/5. 

[Doggett]

Iron Man 2

Tony Stark has blood poisoning, there's an angry russian (is there any other kind ?), the US government want to take his toy away, and there's a guy called Hammer who wants to see him fail on an epic scale. Oh, and S.H.I.E.L.D. are still on his back.

I really liked this !
I thought the first film was alright, I didn't like it as much as everyone else but it was a decent time waster. But this has lots going for it, so many little plots going on, its great fun to watch. A little too many I think for fans of the first flick, but it didn't bother me.

3.5/5

Halloween 4

Micheal Myers escapes the asylum and tries to kill his niece.
Same old, same old.

Its pretty good. Standard stuff, but entertaining. Great ending !!!

3/5

[retrorussell]

[JaseSF]

Going My Way (1944): A young priest named Father Chuck O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is assigned to aid aging and ailing Father Fitzgibbons (Barry Fitzgerald) at St. Dominic's in New York. The conservative Fitzgibbons however doesn't quite know just what to make of the young upstart or his more modern, moderate methods of dealing with things and people he encounters be it the local gossiping busy body or the local youth toughs O'Malley somehow manages to coax into forming a boys' choir?!

This light-hearted comedy/drama won 7 Academy Awards and was nominated for 10 in 1944. I can see why it might well have done so at the time. There's lots here to like, Crosby is wonderful and surprisingly believable as a likable priest who effects change just by being nice, friendly and straight with everyone he encounters, the local youth reminds one of the East Side Kids or The Bowery Boys yet they're good at heart. The reactions of the more conservative characters to O'Malley makes for some priceless  funny, clever scenes. The songs performed by Crosby are quite good especially "Swinging on a Star" although I didn't care as much for the "Going My Way" tune. Not sure this movie would affect people quite the same way nowadays, in fact it would probably seem like escapist fantasy to most these days, as it probably did in its time but honestly I loved it and it did remind me of changes I saw in my own little community when a more actively involved minister had a similar positive effect upon the area in which I live. **** out of ***** stars.

No More Hibakusha (1983): Fascinating short film from the National Film Board of Canada running close to an hour long that follows a group of survivors from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic explosions as they plan to travel to New York for a United Nations peace conference determined to do their best to try and stop and discourage any further use of atomic or nuclear weapons. It's fascinating to hear the perspectives given and how these people feel they were victims of American experimentation, test subjects to see the effects the atomic bomb would have. The raw, real emotion and heartfelt pain of loss, of people of lost their whole families, of people who lost any sense of a normal life and those who did survive who still spent most of their lives in and out of hospitals while the children of the Hibakusha wonder whether they and their offspring will be normal or be able to have normal lives. The point here is that the horror unleashed by these bombs should never be repeated, no more innocent women and children vaporized, no more atomic or nuclear bombs being dropped, no more hibakusha. ****1/2 out of ***** stars. I'd give it more but the American reasons, the American side in this, for these actions aren't explored enough.

If You Love This Planet (1982): This documentary released by the National Film Board of Canada is just basically a filmed lecture given to SUNY Plattsburgh students by physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott in which she explores the likely outcomes and ultimate harsh realities of the hellish nightmare the planet would be reduced too following a nuclear war, a world in which it is said "the living would envy the dead". The lecture is interspersed with footage of survivors horribly disfigured from the atomic bomb explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan as well as footage from an American Anti-Japanese war propaganda film. This 25 minute lecture is fascinating in retrospect as it shows a different era in time as well in the early 1980s when all of this seemed a much more likely everyday possibility (even though it's certainly still possible nowadays too). ****1/2 out of ***** stars.

Minoru: Memory of Exile (1992): an animated documentary style film, again from the National Film Board of Canada, combining old photographs and animation that explores the unfair seizing of goods and internment of the Japanese into camps in the Rocky Mountains during World War II followed by the deportation of many following this in the years after the war specifically focused on one particular family who lived through the experience. It's fascinating as it explores the thorough unfairness of this process with regards to certain Japanese Canadians, some of whom were actually born in Canada. It shows the terrible unfairness and mistreatment of blind prejudice and hate and reminds us of a terrible injustice that made us more like our enemies of World War II that one would like to have believed. **** out of ***** stars.

[claws]

Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

Vibrant colors, good detail, natural grain - the German Region B locked Blu-ray presents this Spielberg-lacking sequel with great quality. HD actually makes the special effects look better than they ever did, and you can count every wrinkle in creepy Kane's face without closeup  3.5/5

[Jack]

The Abominable Snowman (1957) - Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing set out to find the Abominable Snowman high in the Himalayas.  This was really suspenseful, with the audience only getting partial views of the creature, which was probably a great idea considering that when we finally see its face late in the movie, it's a bit of a laugh.  Lots of climbing through the snowy mountains, camping in caves, hearing spooky howling coming from outside.  Eek!  Great characters;  that's what I love about these old black-and-white movies, the characters are usually wonderfully developed, given believable motivations, and the acting is at a level far above anything that exists nowadays.  Unfortunately this kind of descended into talkiness towards the end, building up to a climax but giving us only a denouement instead.  4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: THE CRAWLING EYE:  The very first MST3K episode on Comedy Central, it's very raw, pretty much for dedicated fans of the show only.  No big laughs in the movie riffing, but there are a few giggles in the host segments.  The movie involves people dying on the slopes of a Swiss mountain, and a psychic figuring out that a crawling eye is responsible.  The "eye" is very cool when you finally see it, though.  2/5. 

[SkullBat308]

Poltergeist 1
Poltergeist 2
Poltergeist 3 Meh.....
In Search of Lovecraft- Terrible low budget movie, though there's lots of stuff about Lovecraft in this, just too boring

[claws]

Poltergeist III (1988) Blu-ray/Region B

Carol Anne moves to Chicago to live with her aunt inside a high rise building. Evil Kane shows up still in need to be guided to the "light."
Wretched sequel with interesting special effects. And the worst Aunt Award goes to Nancy Allen ... 2.75/5
Nice quality Blu-ray release from Germany.

[Rev. Powell]

NINJA SCROLL (1993): A ninja-for-hire joins forces with a cursed female ninja and a gnome-like spy to fight against the Eight Devils of the Dark Shogun. Above-average anime adventure/fantasy set in feudal Japan featuring nice artwork, a complicated but coherent plot, and graphic violence and nudity.  This is a 5 star movie if you're a 16 year old boy, but loses a half star with every two years you age until it flattens out at 3/5.

THEATER OF BLOOD (1973): A Shakespearean actor kills off the critics who gave him bad notices by recreating death scenes from the Bard's plays.  Slyly hilarious black comedy that gives star Vincent Price a chance to show off his full range; it's probably the most literate slasher movie ever made.  4/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Louis CK Chewed up - another comedy special this one from 08. It starts off kind of rote and dumbed down but gets really funny when he gos into all thes stuff about his family. a little dark and explicit for some tastes but I really liked it 5/5

also saw Kevin Hart "Seriously Funny" and liked that for similar reasons, priceless stuff about kids and fmaily.

[spongekryst]

Breakin'- I'm...speechless...Definitely a BAD movie, but infectious nonetheless. I will buy it and learn to breakdance. My new vice really.

Sphere- Wasn't all that bad, a lot of the dialogue was contradictory and stupid, but still worth a watch. A motley crue of divers investigate a sunken space craft, which just happens to have a spere inside of it that gives those who come in contact with it the power to bring their imaginations to life. Being under water, the fears of the divers manifest and start to kill in the form of giant squids, jellyfish, etc.

I Sell the Dead- I really like this one. As the credits stated, "A good cast is worth repeating", and I really hope they do. Grave robbing exploits and their cut throat world. That's all I'm giving away.

[Rev. Powell]

I Sell the Dead- I really like this one. As the credits stated, "A good cast is worth repeating", and I really hope they do. Grave robbing exploits and their cut throat world. That's all I'm giving away.

Good movie from the Scareflix series.  They're trying to do some different things with horror. I really like these guys.  The crew stays the same but they change up directors, with for example the sound guy working sound for the others' movies, then taking his turn directing.  I hope they continue to have success.  My favorite was I CAN SEE YOU, but it's too weird and slow to start for most people.  I SELL THE DEAD may be the most commercially successful one.