Recent viewings

[3mnkids]

Werewolf Hunter(Romasanta)~ Based on the story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, a serial killer in the 1800's who claimed to be a werewolf. It was alright. Its not a good horror movie and its not a good real crime movie either. Its interesting in a way and looks pretty good but I wouldn't watch it again.

[lester1/2jr]

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)- If you are in a bad enough mood , watching this movie can be almost like a religous experience.  On the one hand it's about a specific type of crime, on the other it can't help but be a metaphor of sorts though our empathy may be a bit insulting considering the level of our own hardship vs that of the heroine. What are it's social/ political implications?  Civilized people are naive and easy prey for the paganistic tribes of the lower castes. Or is this just the ultimate pulp story of the audience itselfs desire to see the star absolutely degraded than to absolutely degrade those who degrade her like some kind of apolitical but still quasi-feminist hulk Hogan, but this time the arm in the air has an axe?  I don't frickin know. This director does not flinch and is really determined to display savagery which is important.  There is nothing watered down here. If this guy was filming someone being shot,  the first 5 seconds would be the shooting them there would be 5 minutes of watching the guy die, probably all from the same angle.  and it would be good.  So, the brutality of life is laid bare.  Maybe he should have made a story about ww2 to illustrate all this, or a divorce but he didn't and it's no suprise that people have been and were turned off by the combination of dark themes and titillation. It's certainly as far as you can get from "Scream" or other "fun" horror movies.  I never rented this when I was a teenager in the suburbs and I'm kind of glad I didn't. It's very heavy and genuinly disturbing but realistic (maybe a little less so toward then end).  Really, my limited writing ability and education can't do it justice. 5/5

[Rev. Powell]

SPIRITS OF BRUCE LEE (1973): A man goes to Thailand to search for his missing brother.  Undramatic, and at one point it goes about 40 minutes without a fight scene; the spirit of Bruce Lee is very far away.  Also, subtly racist against Thais.  1.5/5.

[InformationGeek]

I'm currently watching Attack of the Monsters.  So far, I am not impressed at all by the film, though the bad dubbing is enjoyable. 

I just finished watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire as well.  I'm surprised not many people like it.  The animation is great, the soundtrack is amazing, voice acting is impressive with a good lineup, the story is nice, and it does capture the feel of the times at the certain points.

[lester1/2jr]

MST3K Hercules vs the moon men-  Maybe it 's me but this seemed like the most annoying least funny episode ever.  The movie wasn't that bad, that may be the problem.

[Jack]

Kairo (English title:  Pulse) 2001 - Japanese horror movie.  Two solid hours of subtitles    Pretty hard to describe the plot;  some people see ghosts, after which they become very lethargic, and eventually commit suicide.  Their friends worry about them a lot, and try to figure out what the heck is going on.  Meanwhile, another guy tries to log on to the "ur anus" website, but instead gets a bunch of creepy pictures, and the website keeps calling him up.  He meets a girl at the computer lab at school and together they try to figure it out.  Apparently the realm where ghosts exist is full, and they're coming over to our side.  Or maybe they're drawing everyone over to their side?  I ain't got a clue.  People start disappearing and leaving dark marks on the wall.  The acting was pretty good and the characters were interesting.  Pretty much nothing happened for the first 90 minutes, but it finally picked up towards the end and had a fairly good conclusion.  It created and sustained a creepy atmosphere throughout.  I sort of liked it, it was very odd.  3.5/5.

[Doggett]

Kairo (English title:  Pulse) 2001 - Japanese horror movie.  Two solid hours of subtitles    Pretty hard to describe the plot;  some people see ghosts, after which they become very lethargic, and eventually commit suicide.  Their friends worry about them a lot, and try to figure out what the heck is going on.  Meanwhile, another guy tries to log on to the "ur anus" website, but instead gets a bunch of creepy pictures, and the website keeps calling him up.  He meets a girl at the computer lab at school and together they try to figure it out.  Apparently the realm where ghosts exist is full, and they're coming over to our side.  Or maybe they're drawing everyone over to their side?  I ain't got a clue.  People start disappearing and leaving dark marks on the wall.  The acting was pretty good and the characters were interesting.  Pretty much nothing happened for the first 90 minutes, but it finally picked up towards the end and had a fairly good conclusion.  It created and sustained a creepy atmosphere throughout.  I sort of liked it, it was very odd.  3.5/5.

Dude, I love that move.

But I agree.

I have no idea what's going on. I'm sure plenty of stuff happens in the first 90 mins. I just don't know exactly what that stuff it. I think the plot is ghosts have spread into the Internet and they escape the net by coming out of computers. When a ghost and person meet they cancel each other out...well....that's what I read. I might give it another viewing later.

There's a bit where people stick bags over their heads and put tape over the doors of where ghosts have broken through.

Bonkers. I want to watch it again now !

[Jack]

Dude, I love that move.

But I agree.

I have no idea what's going on.

Yeah, I guess the fact that you don't what's happening, or why, adds to the suspense and mystery.  It actually worked pretty well.

[Torgo]

Night of the Creeps   
Blackenstein   
The Black Godfather   
the Monster Squad   

[InformationGeek]

I finished watching Attack of the Monsters and there was a large amount of so bad that it is funny moments in that film.

Last night, I watched Halloween for the first time on AMC.  It was ok and very suspense, but the movie is just plagued with so many idiots and stupid neighbors (No one is strange or called the police when they heard screaming?)

I also watched The Haunted Mansion.  It is still good as I remember.

In my English class for Halloween, we had finished watching Frankenstien (1931 verison).  It was the first time I saw it and I thought it was rather good for its time.  Some of the grunting and groaning from the monster made my class laugh a bit, but it was still a good and serious movie.

[lester1/2jr]

Dark Remains- this is one of those indy movies that is indy only by default and is screaming out for a hollywood touch (and wallet) at every turn.  right away the acting was bad and the woman didn't look or act like the little girls mother, they have to TELL you that.  and who's ever heard of an abandoned JAIL?  That's what's in the woods near their cabin, an abandoned jail.  This has some good scares though and is creepy and fun to watch.  I bet most people weer too freaked out by the movie to watch the extra about the actual jail.  So that's an accomplishment.  4/5

[JaseSF]

Jeepers Creepers (2001): A brother and sister (Justin Long and Gina Phillips) driving home for spring break along a long, deserted stretch of highway find themselves terrorized by a mysterious stranger driving around in a "souped up" van. When they spot said stranger dumping something that looks a hell of a lot like a body wrapped in a sheet down a pipe, their curiousity is further peaked. Unfortunately so is the stranger's interest in them. There's something not quite right, he's certainly far from ordinary, about this individual.

This was in many ways a well done horror film. It keeps its mystery and suspense building and building throughout and its monster certainly is a unique and original creation, although at times he did remind me just a little of the creatures in MIMIC. This one is also disturbing when one knows of the director's shady past as many of the images are subtly erotic yet shocking and revolting to boot (but then one could also say the same for much of Cronenberg's work). Also the Creeper being something that likes to assimilate its prey, to become one with them so to speak, could also be considered to have a unsettling underlying subtext too. The logic of many of the characters is suspect, especially them returning to the abandoned church but then again, who's to say someone (albeit most likely not the brightest decision by any stretch) might not try and help someone they thought in horrible trouble? In this way, the movie doesn't seem so far removed from its 70s-80s predecessors. In the end, this is a good scary movie and isn't that what a horror film is supposed to achieve? ***1/2 out of *****

Not One Less (1999): A young thirteen year old girl is recruited to act as substitute primary school teacher for a remote Chinese mountain village after the regular teacher Gao has to leave for a month. The girl teacher Wei (Minzhi Wei) is the only person the Mayor could get to take on such an isolated assignment. Teacher Gao hopes to not lose any more students, as many drop out due to the severe poverty of their parents, and so promises young Wei a bonus 10 yuan if there's not one less student upon his return. When young troublemaker Zhang Huike (Huike Zhang) is forced to go to the city to find work to pay off his family's debt, teacher Wei is determined to get to the city, find him and return him to the school. It's a seemingly impossible task but Wei enlists her students' aid to try and find a means and is stubbornly determined to never give up until she achieves her goal.

This is better than any reality television on the airwaves today. It's much more brutally real and honest. The characters are and/or seem like real individuals. It makes for engrossing, even inspiring viewing for those who can appreciate it. Recommended for those who enjoy real slice of life dramas and documentaries. I honestly couldn't take my eyes off of it once I started watching it. I had no clue what it was about before it came on Bravo television. Great stuff. ****1/2 out of *****

Kung Fu Panda (2008): Po is a Panda who dreams of something more than inheriting his father's noodle business and gets a chance to live his dream when he's unexpectedly picked to be the Dragon Warrior, said to be the one being destined to gain the Dragon Scroll, be given great power with which to defend the Jade Kingdom against a terrible threat and thereafter bring about a great era of peace. The only problem is Po (voiced brilliantly by Jack Black) is in actuality a big fat Panda with no real knowledge of Kung Fu or martial arts in general and it seems his choosing may have been in fact an unwanted accident...or was it?

There's very little here that hasn't been done before in either Kung Fu films or 3D animated adventures (not to mention it also seems to borrow quite a bit from Star Wars). While obviously the violence is somewhat toned down here for the kiddies, this one does deliver the goods with some exciting and fun battles. It also has some wonderful moments, the voice work and casting is phenomenal and this is suitable viewing fun for the entire family. But again, it lacks anything really original. The plot seems rather formulaic and there's few if any real surprises here but that isn't necessarily an entirely bad thing. As I also said, this does deliver on its expected goods. It's very enjoyable watching Po find his place in the world, his coming of age...just the grandest, or as Po might say awesome-est, fun! My favourite character though is Master Oogway, who gets most of the film's best Yoda-esque lines such as: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery and the Present is a gift...that's why it's called 'the Present'" and "No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe." ***1/2 out of *****

[Jack]

Son of Frankenstein (1939) - Frankenstein's son (Basil Rathbone) shows up to take possession of dad's castle.  The townsfolk aren't at all happy about this, and soon enough Frank Jr. starts showing an interest in his father's work.  Turns out the monster (Boris Karloff) is still alive, but he's been in a coma since being hit by lightning.  Ygor (Bela Lugosi) has been taking care of him, and talks Dr. Frankenstein into healing him.  Ygor was hung for stealing body parts, but it just broke his neck.  He's been using the monster to kill off the 8 jurors who convicted him.  Performances were pretty good, especially Basil, who gets increasingly paranoid as the police inspector starts uncovering his plans.  Wasn't especially "scary", in fact it was as much of a drama as a horror movie.  3.5/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Madhouse (2004) -  this is the opening movie in your double feature.  I am not all that knowledgable about contemporary movies horror included but this was decent.  It had an easy to follow but still not predictable or plot holey style .  It wasn't as scary as Dark remains which I saw the night before and alot of the special effects reminded me of a cheesy nu metal video but it's worth seeing, though I did almost turn it off right away because of the afformentioned cheese. You could probably figure out how it's going to end but I couldn't . I NEVER can 4/5

[InformationGeek]

Shrek & Shrek 2: I don't know why I just watched them back to back right now.  I guess I just felt like it.  I'm glad I did, both were fun watches, but I should have really watced horror movies instead.  Oh well.