Recent viewings

[claws]

Quarantine is almost a 1:1 remake. They only did a few very minor changes.

[lester1/2jr]

I'm waiting for the Nigerian remake.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: BRIDE OF THE MONSTER:  A very good episode (some fans think great).  Starts off with the first part of an excellent short, "Hired" (can you believe they once sold Chevrolets door-to-door?) which is continued in the next episode (MANOS).  Everyone should know the movie: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, and an octopus, what else do you need for a good time?  Host segments include Crow's disturbing dream, "Hired!" the musical, a peek at what the world would be like if there were no advertising, and a new edit of BRIDE'S climax with Joel and the bots providing Bela's reaction shots.  This was my first time seeing this, somehow I missed it during the show's original run.  A 3.5/5 for now, but it might grow on me.   

I think I'm in the minority but I found the non-MST3K version better as the plot makes more sense, at least to me. You don't have random people showing up and wondering how they got there. Additionally, I think more people die via inanimate octopus too if I remember correctly. 

I like both versions for different reasons.  BRIDE OF THE MONSTER is very watchable on its own, unlike some of the movies they did.

[Jack]

The Crazies (2010) - A disease breaks out in a small town, and turns people into mindless killers.  It starts out slow, and no one realizes the full gravity of the situation until later.  Eventually the military shows up and quarantines the area.  Due to the extreme risk of the contamination spreading, they don't take very many chances when it comes to letting people out of their quarantine zone.  The movie's mostly about the town's sheriff and his wife, the town's doctor.  For the first half hour I thought I was watching some typical low budget movie.  Until the helicopters started showing up and they were real, not CGI.  Didn't care for the characters too much, the sheriff and his wife seemed more like business acquaintances than any sort of "couple".  It took almost until the very end of the movie before I felt like I'd gotten to know them and cared about them.  The action begins at a snail's pace, but very gradually ramps up throughout the runtime until it actually gets fairly exciting by the last half hour.  Some very cool scenes towards the end.  I'll be a bit generous and give it a 4/5.

[bob]

Following (1998). This is one of Christopher Nolan's earlier films. Following is a 1998 British neo-noir film directed by Christopher Nolan. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. The film was made on a small budget and features an unusual non-linear plot structure which has been a feature in several of Nolan's films. Three and a half out of 5 stars.

[lester1/2jr]

Chosen Survivors (1974)- This started out pretty dumb but I ended up kind of respecting it.

A bunch of people are sent to some underground lair as a "thermonuclear" war explodes across the woild. They are kind of nondescript and the first part of the movie with them sort of ambling around is kind of random. Then the bats come. So, it's an end of the world movie AND an animals attack one!

Eventually though it devleops a kinda more profound edge. Why did the government set up this thing with these random people? Was there REALLY a huge nuclear war or are they all unwitting lab rats? The government employee begins to take the brunt of the ire of the group and you'd have to imagine if this were reality  they'd have fed him to the bats if there were even the slightest indication this could be so.

I ended up appreciating this. The set is pretty funky and it's got a Collosus sort of vibe in places and I liked the idea that the anger the chosen survivors felt towards the government for it's dishonesty and so forth.

cool movie man 3.75/5

[Jack]

Swamp Devil (2008) - A girl returns to her hometown to see if she can help her father (Bruce Dern), who is wanted for murder.  Of course it's not Dad who committed the murder(s), but the Swamp Devil.  This isn't actually a SyFy Original, but it sure seemed like one.  The basic premise was fairly interesting, but the execution left a whole lot to be desired.  A lot of scenes in this left me thinking "Oh come on, people don't act like that.  Not even close."   There were some chuckle-inducing continuity errors as well.  The lead actress, Cindy Sampson, seems fairly talented and she's quite easy on the eyes.  I actually cared about her character, despite the crummy movie she was surrounded by.  2.5/5.

[bob]

North (1994) - North is an allegid family friendly comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, and Alan Arkin. The story is based on the novel North: The Tale of a 9-Year-Old Boy Who Becomes a Free Agent and Travels the World in Search of the Perfect Parents by Alan Zweibel, who also wrote the screenplay and has a minor role in the film. It is also Scarlett Johansson's debut film. As for the film, it took me 3 hours to finish this because I needed many breaks to finish it. This film is extremely offensive in its depiction of several people including, but  not limited to the Amish,  Alaskans, and Hawiians. There is heavy product plug within this movie. This movie is strange and oddly distasteful, at its best managing to be bad in some original and unexpected ways. This is without question one of the worst movies of all time and the most offensive movie I have ever finished. Negative 100 stars.

 

[Criswell]

My Neighbor Totoro - I'm not really an anime fan, but I love Miyazaki movies. This movie i really didn't even know why I liked it. But something about it makes you like it. 4/5

[HappyGilmore]

The Beast of Yucca Flats.  On DVD no less.  And I made it to the end.

[JaseSF]

The Beast of Yucca Flats- First time seeing this...WOW...I don't I have to explain it, but in a strange sense, I enjoyed it. Sort of in the same way one enjoys Manos. Then again, look what site I'm on. 

At some point in the future, someone is going to truly realize what an artistic masterpiece this film truly is...but then again...

[claws]

Vigilante (1983)

Was there ever a better location then sleazy NYC in the 80s? Vigilante takes us there, and that is what makes the movie in my opinion. Not always a perfect revenge-thriller but entertaining enough. It's so cool just to see Fred Williamson being a bad ass. 4/5

2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

New York is in ruins and people are searching for the last American virgin. Or something like that. Bargain bin sci-fi from Italy that rips off Escape from New York. Lots of cheap but fun action, occasional gore, imaginative costumes and setting and giant George Eastman as "Big Ape". 4/5 Cheese

[Jack]

Tales That Witness Madness (1973) - a horror anthology movie.  Donald Pleasence is a researcher in an insane asylum, and he takes his visiting colleague to visit several of his patients.  Their stories comprise the movie.  It is sooooooo predictable.  You know for a fact that each story is going to have a "surprise" twist ending, and you can see it coming a mile away.  It's tough to predict the ending of the fourth piece, because it doesn't really have one.  This stuff might have been "thrilling" if you were a pre-teen in 1973, but it's just dull as dirt today.  2.5/5.

[Doggett]

Tron Legacy

Erm... Some kid goes into The Grid - which is a computer world- he finds his dad stuck there as his father created a programme in his own likeness that went nuts and wanted total control. So now he has to save his dad and get out. Well, I think there might be other stuff but it wall all very wishy washy...
On the plus side it was like being stuck in an 80's techno-dance club for two hours.
Not perfect by a long shot but I still find it VERY entertaining.

3/5

Made in Dagenham.

A film about stikes made by female workers at a Ford factory in the 60's when they discover they're getting paid less than the men.
Warm, feel good film.
Liked it a lot. Perfect Sunday afternoon film.

4/5

[lester1/2jr]

claws- is 2019 the one with all the weird gangs?