Recent viewings

[metalmonster]

THE SILVER CHAIR

It's The TV Movie Version Of The Book By C.S. Lewis Where Two Kids Are Brought To The Land Of Narnia To Find A Missing Prince That Was Taken Away By An Evil Witch Who Can Turn Into A Snake

I'd Give It 8/10



SNOW WHITE : The Fairest Of Them All

It Is A TV Movie About Snow White , The Witch , The Apple , The Dwarves Etc

I'd Give It 7/10



305

It Is A Movie Based On A Popular Youtube Video Making Fun Of The Movie 300

I'd Give It 7/10



THE DARK CRYSTAL

Two Little Kangaroo Creatures Have To Return A Fragment Of A Giant Crystal To It's Rightful Place Before The Three Suns Line Up Or Risk The End Of The World.

I'd Give It7/10

[Rev. Powell]

FOUR SHAOLIN CHALLENGERS: Standard story about four kung-fu warriors rescuing an oppressed town from a Triad gang.  Pretty good fighting, especially in the finale where the heroes wield some unusual weapons (umbrella, cymbals), but nothing to raise it above the pack.  Hardcore martial arts fans won't be disappointed, but casual fans can find better choices.  2.5/5.

[SkullBat308]

The Descent

[Psycho Circus]

I tried to watch Streets Of Fire again last night, but the picture on my new £300 HD LCD Digital TV sucks! It's all watery and blurry, whereas my old TV (an 80s "De Graaf") used to be crystal clear...

[Jack]

I tried to watch Streets Of Fire again last night, but the picture on my new £300 HD LCD Digital TV sucks! It's all watery and blurry, whereas my old TV (an 80s "De Graaf") used to be crystal clear...

That sucks - go over to the AV Science forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166  I bet those guys could help you figure out what the problem is.

[Psycho Circus]

I tried to watch Streets Of Fire again last night, but the picture on my new £300 HD LCD Digital TV sucks! It's all watery and blurry, whereas my old TV (an 80s "De Graaf") used to be crystal clear...

That sucks - go over to the AV Science forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166  I bet those guys could help you figure out what the problem is.

Thanks for the tip, but they didn't have anything listed for it. I've looked at tons of reviews for it and everybody seems very happy with their picture quality. I'm not though. 

[Rev. Powell]

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE: The title pretty much says it all.  The one-joke premise is enough to raise it from a formula alien invasion film into something watchable.  It may be heresy around here, but though it's entertaining, I don't find this to be quite the kult klassic some people say it is. 3/5. 

MST3K: MANHUNT IN SPACE: I believe the movie was pieced together from three episodes of what was supposed to be a sci-fi TV series for kids.  The funniest part to me was when one character literally reminded another to get her "space gun;" the host segment riffing on that blunder wasn't nearly as funny as the movie itself.  All in all, an average episode, which is till pretty good.  3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Sweet Movie - This euro malarkey is great if you feel like seeing something really quite awful. The first half is sort of somewhere between "can I do it till I need glasses" (an ultra moronic r rated "laugh in" sex comedy from the 70's) and and a lefty off broadway play with you know, the american is this cowboy and he's rich and part of an evil corporation or something. It's all abstract and lots of european in jokes and counter cultures signifiers.

                               The second half is sort of like Caligula or Jackass or something with people barfing and urinating in a commie bachanale of some sort. I'll give them this: the shot of the people having sex in the pile of sugar and the girl covered in chocolate were worthy of mid 70's Penthouse and that is quite a compliment indeed. Other elements of it were colorful and memorable in some cases but largely meaningless or very obscure. I found the topless woman cavorting with two very underage boys in poor taste and rather upsetting. I'm sure I almost saw this at the Harvard film archive when I was in college and I'm glad I missed it though I saw weirder things there. Actually no I didn't. I wash my hands of the whole thing a la Pontius Pilate though I admit I got a chuckle out of it here and there.

[vukxfiles]

Very cool atmosphere, very cool and funny moments, but at the end I wasn't that amazed. 5/10

[venomx]

2012 (2009)

Just got back ... I LOVED IT! Best cgi fxs I have ever seen, great cast.

Sad story though, makes you wonder about things ...

[3mnkids]

I've been sick so I watched movies all weekend..

Mad Max
The road warrior
Beyond thunderdome
Planet Terror
The lord of the rings~ The two towers
The lord of the rings~ The return of the king
Day of the dead

[lester1/2jr]

rifftrax best of shorts v2- mike tom servo and one of the other guys doing a lo fi version of MST3K.  when they talk it drowns out the movie, that's how cheap it is.  But it works.  the shorts themselves vary from very dull to weirdly entertaining, including one with kids riding bikes dressed as monkeys and a superhero crossing guard.  I liked it and in general it's definately worth seeing for devotees but pretty hit and miss.

[JaseSF]

Return of the Jedi (1983) (Original Theatrical Version): Luke Skywalker and his droids R2-D2 and C3P0 along with Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian attempt to rescue a still frozen in carbonite Hans Solo from the slimy clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile the Empire has begun constructing a new secret Death Star near the forest moon of Endor. Darth Vader knows Luke must confront him and he and the Emperor make plans for said inevitable encounter. Can and will Luke be turned to the Dark Side?

This is a bit of a mixed bag. The opening rescue attempt on Tattooine proves quite unpredictable and thrilling as Jabba’s lair is full of and/or surrounded by exotic strange monstrosities and alien critters. Best of these is the deadly gigantic Rancor Luke must face at one point. Jabba himself proves quite nasty and memorable too. The ending sequence on board the Death Star is perhaps even better with the diabolical Emperor having several unexpected tricks and surprises up his sleeve while Luke must face down Darth Vader in what seems to be a final showdown between the two. Also exciting is the Rebel Alliance fleet partaking in a seemingly suicidal battle with the Imperial fleet. It’s too bad the part on Endor featuring our heroes trying to disable a shield protecting the Death Star proves a little less epic and a bit more in vein of silly family fantasy/comedy. For some reason, cuddly little furballs named Ewoks join the Rebel fight and make the Imperial forces look decidedly goofy and foolish as the furballs quickly outwit them time and time again. It’s this element that moves this film too far away thematically from its predecessors. It just doesn’t prove as epic as it should given what happens on Endor and how stupid the Imperial forces are made to look during that part of the film even while operating their Imperial Walkers, which pale in comparison to how strongly they were portrayed in The Empire Strikes Back. Also some might well be disappointed that Vader isn’t as strong as in previous film outings either as here in fact, the Emperor becomes the main villain of the piece. Still this has its great moments, they just seem a bit anticlimactic when compared to revelations made in The Empire Strikes Back. Still a solid *** out of ***** stars for this one.

Gojira (1954): When several Japanese vessels are mysteriously sunk at sea, a giant prehistoric sea monster of legend and lore is thought to be the possible culprit. Further investigation by scientists reveals that, even more astonishing, the monster is in fact radioactive and was most likely driven from its deep sea natural habitat by H-bombs tests.

This is the original full-length Japanese version of the film. It is superior I’ve come to realize upon a second viewing to the later Americanized version because it contains more footage and more effectively gets across director Ishiro Honda’s anti-nuclear Godzilla metaphor. There’s plenty of monster stomping footage here too as Godzilla goes on a rampage in Tokyo and like a nuclear bomb unleashed destroys practically everything in his path. There’s many great scenes here that show great human suffering in the face of a destructive tragedy, something Japan would know all too well following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski not to mention the air raids made by the Americans during World War II. The combination of effects work by Eiji Tsuburaya, the moody, sometimes chilling, startling and often appropriately dreary music of Akira Ifukube and the films startling sound FX only work to enhance the action. The only real flaw here is that the final outcome with Dr. Serizawa actually proves less a surprise here than in the shortened Americanized version and the building of the high tension towers is done at a speed that hardly seems credible. These two flaws aside, this is a moody tense monster classic that truly deserves that title ‘classic’ in its original form. ****1/2 out of *****

Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956): Reporter Steve Martin (Raymond Burr), while making a stopover in Tokyo on his way to Cairo finds himself unexpectedly drawn into the biggest news story of his career: a giant prehistoric monster known only by legend as Godzilla, now atomically mutated, runs rampant and ravages Tokyo.

While this version is trimmed down quite a bit from the original, enough of the original’s anti-nuclear Godzilla metaphor remains that I did still get ‘it’ upon my first viewing...said message though is a bit toned down in this outing. In essence, Godzilla is here much more similar as a threat to other atomic mutation films of the 50s era. The lack of faith in the army and government seems less evident in this version than in Honda’s original. Still Terry Morse’s Americanized version does prove surprisingly good,  an even more amazing feat given Morse’s low budget and the fact that the American scenes were shot over a few days on a small sound stage. Given that, Burr’s performance too is much better than one might expect especially the delivery of his narration as Godzilla rampages through Tokyo. The conclusion with Dr. Serizawa does seem a bit more surprising in this version as it’s given less of a buildup here and some of the sound FX, while quite good to begin with, is actually improved and enhanced even further. The biggest problem here is that Burr’s inserted scenes become much too obvious on repeated viewing (although I never even noticed the difference first time I watched this) and Burr’s performance at times seems dull with a few too many scenes of him starring blankly ahead making one wish the monster would just appear already. Still when he finally does, he sure doesn’t disappoint and this film was the film that would make Godzilla popular for years to come with audiences worldwide. ***1/2 out of *****

Stanley and Iris (1990): While working in a bakery, Iris King (Jane Fonda) befriends a man named Stanley Cox (Robert De Niro), a cook in the bakery’s cafeteria. Eventually Iris discovers Stanley’s inability to read and learns how it has negatively impacted upon his life both personally and professionally. When he later comes to her for help, she decides to teach him.

This little romantic drama is actually quite well done. For one thing, it features good performances from leads Fonda and De Niro. Their characters Stanley and Iris prove quite likable and most people in the audience will quickly find themselves rooting these characters on. If there’s one flaw here, it’s that the movie proves a tad too predictable. Also the love conquers all ending doesn’t quite seem to jive for some reason but still a solid *** out of ***** stars for this one.

Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation (2007): A very disturbing documentary that delves into the life and notorious hideous crimes of loony Albert Fish, one of the worst serial killers in American history.

This documentary is very unsettling to watch because the crimes of Albert Fish were so horrendous. What’s even more upsetting to me as a viewer is that this documentary seems to be exploiting its terrible subject matter in a manner that would have surely pleased the nutty Fish himself. Fish was a cannibal, a pedophile, a necrophiliac, a masochist and a sadist and he also practiced numerous other unspeakable perversions! He frequently used religion as a basis and an excuse from which to spring his unspeakable perversions upon an unsuspecting world. He looked at the examples of terrible suffering unleashed upon bible figures like Christ and John the Baptist as an excuse to dish out and receive horrible punishment.

This documentary doesn’t pull any punches and in fact some may well argue it glorifies Fish and his atrocities. It makes for a very disturbing viewing experience, one which left me feeling like I needed a shower after viewing. Just gruesome on so many levels. Don’t go into this one unprepared to be seriously disturbed. * *1/2 out of *****

[Rev. Powell]

THE BRAVE LION (1977):  The workers at a timber mill are abused by their overseers during the Japanese occupation of China until they rise up in revolt.  Terribly confusing movie with too many characters that tries too hard to be a serious wartime drama.  Worse yet, the fight sequences, while long, aren't terribly interesting, the fighters are not overly athletic and the fights are poorly designed, the editing of the fights is confusing, and the awful pan and scan job makes it even worse.  Frequently its impossible to tell what's supposed to be going on.  The most unwatchable movie I've yet encountered in the Martial Arts 50 packe. 1/5.

JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (1971): An enemy shell blasts a WWI doughboy, leaving him armless, legless, blind and deaf; the army keeps him alive and he slips in and out of memories, dreams and fantasies while trying to figure out how to communicate with the outside world in his lucid moments.  A very interesting premise though terribly uneven; the screenwriter/novelist directed his own work, and I'm afraid that his inexperience held back what could have been a classic. Some scenes dragged, and although vets Jason Robbards and Donald Sutherland come off well, poor 18-year old Timothy Bottoms wasn't ready to handle such a difficult role, and the young actress who plays his sweetheart is distrctingly bad.  Luis Bunuel was originally set to direct but had other commitments.  The scenes with Sutherland as Christ are the best; he turns water into whiskey, does card tricks, and drives a train.  Some parts are extremely moving but I'm afraid I didn't find it to be quite the classic I had hoped for.  Members of the board may have seen parts of the movie in the Metallica video "One," which was inspired by the movie and uses footage from it.  3.5/5, worth seeing.

BTW Lester I agree with your opnion of SWEET MOVIE. 

[lester1/2jr]

trailer town- this was so completely revolting and scat related I didn't even make it to the end of the trailer!!  put it back in the envelope and mailed it back without watching, my delicate WASP sensiblities savagely assaulted