Recent viewings

[Silverlady]

 
I watched a double feature from Netfiix.  Tarantula/The Mole People.  I actually had a great time with these two from the 1950's.

 Tarantula's about a mad scientist (is there any other kind?) who experiments on lab animals (and colleagues) by injected them with growth serum.  Before ya know it ... there are  rats as big as dogs and a spider as big as a house! The big T soon escapes and is soon chowing down on the local cattle, horses, and townfolk.  Things haven't been going too well for the poor doc either since a former (meaning dead) colleague injected the doc with the same growth serum.  The doc doesn't get as big as a house ... just gets mighty ugly and dies when the tarantula stomps on his house.  In the end when the giant arachnid is on it's way to destroy some town in Arizona, the air force, army (?) comes to rescue.  An uncredited Clint Eastwood is the squadron leader pilot who drops the napalm on the hairy legged creature and saves the day!

Then there's the Mole People.  Descendents of a long lost Sumarian race living in the bowels of the Earth someplace under a glacier in the Himalayas.  Split into 2 groups  ... one is a pasty skinned, light detesting, gaudily dressed bunch who worship the goddess Ishtar.  They have ALFRED the butler from the old Batman tv serious as their high priest.  The other group, a bug eyed, green lumpy skinned, clawed handed bunch with hunchbacks are their slaves.  They are always getting whipped.  A group of archeologists stumbles upon their city and causes problems.  Excitment ensues.  Human sacrifice, a love interest for one of the archeologists , and a rebellion.  It doesn't get any better than that.

It was a fun time.   

[Rev. Powell]

A typically ramdom triple feature for me. 

THE MUPPETS (2011): Kermit the Frog gathers the scattered Muppets from as far away as Reno and Paris for a telethon to raise money to save the historic Muppet theater from being torn down by an evil Texas oilman.  Jokes and songs (lots of them) for the whole family; nostalgia and cameos especially for the grown-ups.  Not necessarily the best movie of the year, but the most fun you're likely to have at the movies this year.  4.5/5.

POINT BLANK (2010): Gangsters kidnap a medical assistant's pregnant wife to force him to spring their injured comrade from a hospital; complications arise and he's drawn into a web of conspiracy and murder.  Fast-paced French thriller with a classic "cops think the good guy is the bad guy" hook.  4/5.

SKIDOO (1968): Jackie Gleason plays a retired gangster sent to prison to assassinate a stool pigeon; gentle, freaky flower children help him get out of trouble in this notorious all-star train-wreck made by squares for the benefit of the counterculture.  Watch it to see Carol Channing doing the frug in yellow pantyhose, Groucho Marx playing "God" and saying "groovy," and, best of all, Jackie Gleason freaking out on LSD.  It's no classic but definitely worth a look for bad movie fans.  3/5.

[Flick James]

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (2001):

I haven't watched this movie in it's entirety since 2001. We upgraded to Blu-Ray on Netflix a few months back and I started putting the entire Harry Potter franchise in the queue and the first one came in yesterday. It was kind of fun to watch and see things that would be revealed later but that I forgot from the first movie. I am hit or miss with certain installments of the series, but I think the first one was pretty charming, although I didn't think as much of it upon it's initial release. It was also kind of fun seeing the cast at such a young age. On an added note, it was also a little sad seeing Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore, knowing he would not make it past the first two installments. Not that there's anything wrong with Michael Gambon's portrayal, but I've just always been a big fan of Harris and am therefore a little partial.

4.5/5

[retrorussell]

Deathdream (1974).  Good variation of "The Monkey's Paw" in which a grieving family of a 'Nam vet are shocked to find him return.  However, he acts very weird and aloof and finally turns to murder and draining blood to retain his complexion/renewed vitality.  The only real detriments are the extremely low budget (though it doesn't really hurt that badly) and the fact that there is no explanation whatsoever for his return from the dead.  Pretty well acted, especially by his parents.

[Jack]

Shapeshifter (2005) - a favorite of mine, must have watched it 5 times now.  Sort of an Alien ripoff type thing, except with a monster in a jail chasing the inmates around.  Jennifer Lee Wiggins stars as the guard in the tight tank top, and the prisoners themselves are a varied and colorfully entertaining bunch.  The action moves along at a pretty good pace.  Just cheesy good fun all around.  4.5/5.

[bob]

Night of the Hunter - as soon as I heard the name the villian I thought of our own Rev. Powell 


it is incredbily predictable and contains  many many gaping holes of logic a mile wide

1/5

[Rev. Powell]

Night of the Hunter - as soon as I heard the name the villian I thought of our own Rev. Powell 


it is incredbily predictable and contains  many many gaping holes of logic a mile wide

1/5

 

[JaseSF]

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992): rewatched this movie which is basically just a rehash of the first film on an arguably even bigger scale with a bigger setting in New York City and an even more intensified level of violence. Actually all in all it was surprisingly funny and entertaining and works best if one looks at it as what it basically is, a live action cartoon in which cartoon physics apply. Honestly I kind of like the hotel stuff here the best as it at least seems a bit more original than the rest and Tim Curry is really fun in his stuffy hotel clerk role. Frankly though, I'm always a tad disturbed here by the pigeon lady covered in pigeon poo whom Kevin befriends and she's a poor replacement for the snow shoveling neighbor Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom) from the original. All in all, entertaining enough but definitely one shouldn't think too hard while watching this unfold. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940): Set in Budapest, Hungary following the Depression, Alfred Kralik (Jimmy Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullivan) are co-workers working within the same store who quickly come to dislike one another intensely despite the fact that unbeknowst to them, they are already involved in a secret letter-writing anonymous romance. This eventually comes to an head as Christmas approaches, will the truth finally be revealed?

This was very enjoyable with very likable character portrayals including a terrific lead performance from almost always likable and endearing Jimmy Stewart, a perhaps even better performance from Margaret Sullivan as his rival/romantic interest and and some great comedy relief from William Tracy as Pepi the delivery boy. Also there's Frank Morgan as store owner Hugo Matuschek who suddenly finds himself faced with a rather unexpected twist of fate and Joseph Schildkraut as scheming store clerk Varas.

Hmm, while I largely loved this movie and its cast in particular, I did find it a bit hard to believe as I did in the remake You've Got Mail that deception and deceit would be so easily forgiven and forgotten. Still I'll give it a solid ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

The First Christmas (1979): Weird little cartoon short detailing the First Christmas from Australia starts off with images of modern warfare and conflict before returning to similar in the ancient past acting as a prelude for the coming of the Savior. It's different enough to be interesting as it spends a little bit of time on the impending birth of John the Baptist before moving on to the impending birth of Christ and on the villainous and jealous King Herod but overall this Bible Society funded short is kind of dull and really offers little really new. **1/2 out of ***** stars.

A Christmas Carol (1949): A TV short from 1949 narrated by the one and only Vincent Price features a stagey short production of A Christmas Carol that speedily moves its way through the basic story in the short time it has to work with. Actually while the performances feel somewhat over the top and melodramatic, especially that of Taylor Holmes as Ebeneezer Scrooge, this does have a surprisingly likable charm about it and I did get an unexpected laugh or two at the costuming on the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come and the special FX done to achieve Marley walking through a door at one point. I was a bit surprised by how effective Patrick Whyte was as Bob Cratchit. Price is his usual charming self and seems to be having fun with this. *** out of ***** stars.
 

[lester1/2jr]

Fragments- Interesting TCM documentary about little pieces of movies that have been found in vaults or at flea markets. As you may know, movies were once shot on nitrate which not only doesn't age well but tend to spontaneously combust often starting fires that destroy not only them but the edifice in which they were stored. Some of the movies memories are preserved only in some found trailers and in one case a 1930's documentary about movies, which survived while some of the movies in it didn't. There are a couple of Lon Chaney things and some random entertaining stuff. 4/5

14 hours- really liked this noir about a guy who they are trying to talk off a ledge many stories up. It opens with some real nice shots of NYC and gets into the plot right away. Some may find the talk downer guy (I don't know what you call them) a little corny but he's pretty much believable.  What I like is even if I don't love the ideas (like the Freud spouting psychiatrist) there is alot of care put into it, they don't phone anything in. Despite the dark subject matter, the vibe is probably a little to upbeat to really be noir but it looks like one. 4.5/5 nice

[Jack]

The Phantom Creeps (1939) - Bela Lugosi stars as a mad scientist who's, well, doing mad stuff.  He's discovered some new element and he's going to take over the world!  I can't say I was terribly impressed with his plan.  He's got a big scary robot that walks around at 1 m.p.h. and if it gets you in a bear hug for a minute or so, it might knock you unconscious.  I think you'd die of old age before it took over a small town, much less the world.  He's also got a gun that - if you fill a room with some sort of gas first - it can knock someone unconscious.  I fail to see the advantage that would have over a regular gun that doesn't require the victim to be exposed to a gas first     He's also got some gadget that he can turn himself invisible with (hence the phantom creep).  His main problem though is his cowardly lab assistant who keeps stealing his inventions and causing all sorts of mischief.  Bela gives an amusingly over-dramatic performance which is certainly the only reason to watch this cheesefest.     2.75/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Prom Night" (1980)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Gmt7GcJhY
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Film #2 of the three-movie Hat Trick that earned Jamie Lee Curtis her Scream Queen immortality (the other two of course being the original "Halloween" and "Terror Train") is a Canadian made cheapie in which a masked killer stalks the halls of Hamilton High School on prom night to avenge the wrongful death of a little girl six years earlier. Watching this in 1982 on cable TV might have been scary. In 2011 it is a badly dated, glacially paced, poorly edited, hunk of schlock that not only steals from "Halloween" but also, unbelievably enough, "Saturday Night Fever!" (Seriously. The extended disco-dance sequences are absolutely nauseating). If these were the kind of scripts she was getting, I can see why Jamie Lee swore off of horror flicks for nearly 20 years after this mess.

Also of note: Leslie Nielsen has a bit part as the school principal in what was probably his last "serious" role before appearing in "Airplane!" and starting off on a whole new career arc.

[lester1/2jr]

Jet Li's Fearless- moderately entertaining kung fu movie with matrix type moves wrapped in nationalistic mumbo jumbo. It started of looking an awful lot like "Ip Man", took an interesting side turn and ended up with all the stuff about how CHina is better than Japan and America and on and on. Li's first couple of Shaolin Temple movies were funded by the commies and I think it was the second one that had a bunch of stuff like this. SO he's come full circle. 3.75/5

[retrorussell]

THE KEEP (1983).  Really dull and uninteresting flick about an evil, immaterial presence inside a Romanian fortress during the Nazi regime that is disturbed when the Nazis try to steal silver crosses for their value, which kept the spirit inside.  It kills or possesses its victims, not sure why it bothers with possession.  Ian McKellen, Jurgen Prochnow and Gabriel Byrne should be embarrassed by this one.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Evil Bong" (2006)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6hT0qFnucM
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An ultra-low-budget, retarded-on-purpose stoner horror comedy flick from Charles "Puppet Master" Band's Full Moon Studios.

After a stoner buys a supposedly "cursed" bong online, he and his hesher roommates smoke from it and are drawn one by one into "Bong World," an alternate dimension that's populated by strippers that wear carnivorous bras. The only hope to stop Evil Bong from taking over the world is...CHAINSAW WIELDING TOMMY CHONG!! I swear, I'm not making any of this up.

...seriously, folks, I'm at a loss for words to describe this flick. This is quite possibly the most random movie I've seen in decades, or perhaps EVER, yet I laughed all the way through it. I guess I must be easily amused.

[ChaosTheory]

THE KEEP (1983).  Really dull and uninteresting flick about an evil, immaterial presence inside a Romanian fortress during the Nazi regime that is disturbed when the Nazis try to steal silver crosses for their value, which kept the spirit inside.  It kills or possesses its victims, not sure why it bothers with possession.  Ian McKellen, Jurgen Prochnow and Gabriel Byrne should be embarrassed by this one.

Well, in the book the entity thrives on chaos and doesn't possess people so much as screw with their heads (for example when a Jewish character is questioning it, it pretends to be frightened by a cross but doesn't react to a star of David, to make the man doubt his religion) and try to turn them against each other.  I haven't seen the movie but I love the book & always thought it had the potential for a cool horror movie.  It's a shame that wasn't the case.