Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

WITCHFINDER GENERAL [AKA THE CONQUEROR WORM] (1968):  In the near anarchy that occurs as Cromwell is crushing the last of the royalists in England, a unscrupulous lawyer abuses his power to investigate witchcraft for personal gain.  It has rough edges but a features a great villainous performance by Price and a palpable, frightening sense of evil and corruption. 4/5.

SIX STRING SAMURAI (1998): Samurai and rock musician Buddy (martial artist Jeffery Falcon, a dead ringer for Buddy Holly) travels the post-apocalyptic wasteland, heading to Vegas with the other rock and rollers in a bid to assume the throne left vacant by the dead Elvis.  In terms of the setting and concept, this blazingly original and well-crafted movie is so different and unique that you desperately want to fall in love with it, but the layers upon layers of stylization are just so damn thick you end up feeling alienated from the world it creates rather than drawn inside it.  3/5.

[Jack]

Alien vs. Predator Requiem (2007) - A predator and some aliens come to Earth, while the local human inhabitants live their lives and oh, surprise!  It's now a war zone.  This had a bit of promise at the beginning, there was some character development and the CGI was kind of cool.  But then all the AvP stuff started and it went straight down the crapper.  Everything was so dark you couldn't tell what was going on - is that an alien?  A predator?  I dunno, it's just a dark shape.  Is that predator fighting one alien, or two or three?  Ain't got a clue.  The big AvP fight at the end was so comical I honestly thought I was watching a Godzilla movie from the '70s.  They tossed in an homage to Aliens every chance they got, which only served to highlight how abysmal this drek was in comparison.  They took $40 million and managed to make something that belongs in the back aisle at Blockbuster along with all the other very average straight-to-video stuff.  3/5.

[ulthar]

GOOD DICK

(Minor possible spoilers)

Down on his heels video store clerk (Jason Ritter) falls ga-ga over weird recluse who rents porn every day (writer and director Marianna Palka).  Over the course of the movie, he slowly makes his way into her heart, though never quite getting all the way there.  She's just too shut off, obviously damaged from some psychological trauma from her past.  In the end, she finds her catharsis and we leave her as she begins to open herself up to more normal human interactions.

I have mixed feelings about this one.

Things I liked:  the quirkiness of the Woman character and the way she would nudge open a bit, then TOTALLY shut herself off again.  I liked the way, with her, the normally "off topic" subject of sex was completely banal, but normal topics were off-limits.  This askewness of her character kept me interested.  Ritter's portrayal of the Man was solid (though I did not like that character as much as I think I was supposed to) as was the interactions between the four friends at the video store (though sometimes completely irrelevant).  There were also some funny moments.

What didn't I like?

This film apparently was highly acclaimed on the festival circuit and Palka won a Best New Director award for it somewhere.  But therein lies the problem - it's a festival film.  Meaning, of course, it's all over the map and asks just a bit too much 'suspension' in the name of "my art has FEELING."  Was it a romantic comedy, a serious study of this woman's life and growth, a look at the male drive to 'serve' a woman in need?  What was it SUPPOSED to be?

I hate romance stories that have the premise of the Life Changing Relationship predicated on a lie.  This one has not only one lie, but several compounded.  I found it totally ridiculous that a woman with her past and her psychological make-up would give the Man a total pass on this...no anger, no outrage, NOTHING.  Not even a "you lied to me, but I forgive you because it shows me how much you wanted to be with me."

Compound that with the Man's persistence in face of her constant refusals (for sex, for affection, for friendship) and the whole movie becomes a metaphor for rape.  I just did not like this aspect AT ALL.


2.5-3 of 5

[Flick James]

Zombieland (2009) -

Finally got around to seeing it on NetFlix. I really enjoyed it. I know this film uses CGI, and anyone who has read my posts knows I am almost as scathing of CGI as Circus_Circus. However, it was used well in this film, not overdone, not in-your-face, and from what I could see only really used to help with some flying-gore effects and some stunt effects, like the zombies getting clobbered by the amusement park ride during the climax.

The film opens in the aftermath of the earth having beein overrun by zombies. A young college student, who goes by "Columbus" (everyone in the film goes by a city name), provides some background, including the set of rules he observes that has kept him alive all this time. The rules, such as "always double-tap" and "always check the back seat when entering a car," combined with the fact that he was a loner already with not personal relationships to cloud his judgement, have done well to keep him alive to this point. He meets up with another survivor, "Tallahasse" (played by Woody Harrelson), who has a more reckless and less rule-obsessed approach, and who is obsessed with finding Twinkies to eat. The two reluctantly team up and find two more survivors, an early-twenties love interest, "Wickita," and her 12-year-old younger sister, "Little Rock."

The group travel to Los Angeles, where electricity seems to still be running and running well, and get into a series of misadventures, including holing up in Bill Murray's mansion, which is still inhabited by a living Bill Murray (played by himself) who has made himself up to look like a zombie for survival purposes, and who "Columbus" accidentally kills as a result. There is also a climax as "Witchita" takes her younger sister into a nearby amusement park, activates all the rides, and thereby alerts hundreds of zombies to their presence.

This movie makes good use of some zombie staples, but also takes the genre in some new directions. The biggest difference I noticed was that the zombies are not slow, lumbering things that anyone but an old lady on a walker could outrun. This has always bothered me about the genre, because how could such slow, lumbering things create a major haulocaust? Instead, they are fast and physically ept, while still retaining their mindlessness, and one must be in good shape and very quick about their wits to survive attack. Bill Murray's cameo was awesome, and not knowing anything about it beforehand made it that much more enjoyable. The gunplay was typical of a zombie flick, but fairly realistic and not too over-the-top except for a little bit at the end. Woody Harrelson reloading clips and continuing to fire without chambering a round will annoy anyone who knows anything about guns.

Overall, a very entertaining horror comedy and worth the time. I'm not a particularly big fan of the zombie genre, but this one does nearly eveything right, and keeps it from being just another zombie flick.

4/5.

[3mnkids]

Mutants(2009)~  A zombie outbreak in France leaves pretty much everyone dead. A couple of survivors are heading to a military compound,that is supposed to be safe and is working on a cure, when one of them gets shot. It becomes clear he has been infected...

Its not the best zombie movie I've seen but its alright. The countryside is beautiful, the performances are decent, and its got a little bit of gore.  Zombie fans should check it out.

[JaseSF]

Prince of Darkness (1987): a priest named Father Loomis (Donald Pleasance) enlists the help of a brilliant physicist Professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) and his numerous talented students and colleagues to try and unravel the mystery surrounding a mysterious containment unit found in an old abandoned church, a unit thought perhaps to be holding back a force of tremendous evil.

I enjoyed this one. Sure it has its problems (it descends a little too predictably into zombie style fare by its end) but on the plus side it positively feels and looks like an 80s Horror film especially with its twist surprise ending. In many ways our story feels like a mixing of elements from Quatermass and the Pit (1967) (the mind control, evil force from another time) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) (zombie-like element) as we see the students eventually trapped in the church as an horde of mind controlled homeless people surround them on all sides outside the Church, particularly notable is Alice Cooper as a creepy Schizoid, seemingly their leader. I was a little disappointed by what we never got to see but this has its moments of eerie otherwordly, claustrophic intensity - like being trapped inside your worst nightmare unable to get out or to comprehend all that's going on. Good but not fantastic, I'd give it ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Freaks (1932): a beautiful tightrope performer named Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) and her secret strongman lover Hercules (Henry Victor) plot to steal a fortune in inheritance from the midget Hans (Harry Earles), leader of the sideshow, who is desperately in love with Cleopatra. However Hans' sideshow freak friends eventually uncover the terrible truth regarding Cleopatra and Hercules' plans and enact an horrible revenge.

This is a pretty powerful film. It's unqiue in that the vast majority of the "freaks' used were in fact actual sideshow carnival attractions. In fact, it was said never before were so many gathered in one performance. The film itself plays like a surreal, almost otherworldly nightmare especially the climactic ending crawl through the rain and film's final startling reveal. One does feel sympathy for Hans early on in the film but also wonders at the end if the revenge wasn't taken too far. It's a story of the power of hate, be it blind or otherwise, and the damage it can cause, the horror it can potentially unleash. It's a film that a viewer won't soon forget and one that has the potential to stir much talk and debate.  Personally I'd give it **** out of ***** stars.

I also watched the documentary included on the DVD: Tod Browning's 'Freaks': The Sideshow Cinema (2004) which is quite interesting as we learn quite a bit of history not only about the actors and actresses involved with the film, the controversy and public outcry it caused at the time it was released but most interestingly of all we learn about the lives of the film's arguable true stars - the freaks themselves. It makes for fascinating viewing if the tone is a bit dull at times. **1/2 out of ***** stars.

[Jack]

The Samurai Princess (2009) - a mad scientist who hangs out in the woods is taking parts from dead bodies and bringing them back to life as great warriors.  A couple of these creations decide the doctor should be stopped so they set out to kill him.  This is just about the craziest movie I've seen in a long time.  It's Japanese, full of comical gore, and it pretty much raises gore to an art form.  One guy has a chainsaw for a foot, and he chops people up, causing their parts to fly in the air and pile up in artistic ways on the ground.  One victim had his fingers standing up on top of what was left of his skull.  The main girl - are you sitting down? - she throws her boobs at a guy, making a huge hole in his head.  The main guy kills with his electric guitar.  He impales a guy on the headstock, then plays a guitar solo, causing him to explode.  The characters were actually pretty likable and it had a bit of a story to it.  The music was even pretty good.  3.5/5.

Nightbeast (1982) - An alien crash lands on Earth and goes on a killing spree.  The local small-town residents shoot at him about 1,000 times, but to no avail.  This is Troma, so the acting and writing are just horrible.  The story is basically non-existent.  The poorly acted characters are not altogether unlikable though, and I guess the action moves along at an acceptable rate.  There were a couple things worth a chuckle, like when they stopped the movie right in the middle for a sex scene, or the bad-a$$ biker dude who's in the movie for the sole purpose of extending its runtime an additional 10 minutes.  2.5/5.

Doctor Who: Horror of Fang Rock (1977) - Tom Baker stars as The doctor.  The Tardis lands in England back in the early 1900's, on an island who's only inhabitants are the crew of a lighthouse.  A ship has also wrecked on the rocks, so we get a politician and his entourage at the lighthouse as well.  Oh, and an alien has crash landed too (bad night for traveling I guess), with the aim of invading the planet.  So everybody's stuck in the lighthouse as the realization that something evil is going on slowly sinks in.  This was a really good episode.  The characters were great, especially the head lighthouse keeper who didn't believe in that newfangled electricity stuff, the old oil lamps were far superior.  I loved the quaint atmosphere of the lighthouse, with its tiny rooms and spiral staircase.  What a place to make your stand against the alien invader    The alien was totally cheesy in that cool Dr. Who way.  I also got a chuckle out of the politician's secretary who kept getting hysterical, to the extreme annoyance of everyone else.  Oh, it didn't have any "horror" in it, but it sure was fun.  4/5.

[lester1/2jr]

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)- great title for a not so great movie. Saw on TCM. A woman somehow procures $50,000 worth of diamonds in Cuba and mails them back to NYC so she and her scummy musician husband can sell them. Unfortunately for her and the city at large, she contracted smallpox down there and now the race is on to find her. It's kind of noir but kind of a PSA about getting vacinated when they tell you too. I don't doubt thats sound advice but it's not a super exiting concept for a movie. I mean, the smallpox person loose is good but the vaccination angle, it's not wildly romantic.

An even bigger problem than this is the lead actress who is not very pretty.  Even before she begins to get sweaty and haggard from the small pox she isn't much to write home about. Her sister, who we see only briefly, is legitimately cute and should have been the star.

3/5

Leave Her to Heaven (1947)- This is is a little overrated but if you are in the mood for a long (hour and 50 mins) movie that takes a while to get going it definately has its share of demented charms. Gene Tierney is in a Joan Crawford ish role as a beautiful but possesive woman who's jealousy gets the best of her and threatens to ruin her idyllic life with her succesful author husband. The garish technicolor if off putting at first but ultimately works. The film is today remembered primarily for a couple of shocking scenes of the type that would later be echoed in stuff like "Fatal Attaction' or an especially over the top Lifetime movie. It's got that sort of overheated romance novel feel.

3/5

[Rev. Powell]

The Samurai Princess (2009) - a mad scientist who hangs out in the woods is taking parts from dead bodies and bringing them back to life as great warriors.  A couple of these creations decide the doctor should be stopped so they set out to kill him.  This is just about the craziest movie I've seen in a long time.  It's Japanese, full of comical gore, and it pretty much raises gore to an art form.  One guy has a chainsaw for a foot, and he chops people up, causing their parts to fly in the air and pile up in artistic ways on the ground.  One victim had his fingers standing up on top of what was left of his skull.  The main girl - are you sitting down? - she throws her boobs at a guy, making a huge hole in his head.  The main guy kills with his electric guitar.  He impales a guy on the headstock, then plays a guitar solo, causing him to explode.  The characters were actually pretty likable and it had a bit of a story to it.  The music was even pretty good.  3.5/5.

I didn't like this one very much, but if you liked it you should check out MEATBALL MACHINE and TOKYO GORE POLICE.  This Japanese gore/comedy/fantasy thing is its own mini-genre; MEATBALL MACHINE was the first, and fans consider GORE POLICE the best.

These new Japanese splatterpunk movies are like Troma movies: the first one you watch, you think it's the craziest thing you've ever seen, but when you check out more you realize they're using the same formula over and over. 

[Jack]

Thanks for the tips Rev.  I was thinking this style of movie is kind of nice for a change, but yeah, I think it would get old pretty fast. 

[Rev. Powell]

ALTERED STATES (1980): A Harvard scientist takes an exotic Mexican hallucinogen inside a sensory deprivation tank, which causes him to physically regress to earlier evolutionary states.  Completely ridiculous and unbelievable as science fiction, but on the other hand Ken Russell's visuals may make it the greatest acid trip movie ever made.  It's hard to know how to rate this one; at the same time it's no good at all, and it's great.  3.5/5.

[Jack]

Scanners (1981) - a guy with psychic powers is taken in by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan), who tells him that there are hundreds of others like him, and a bad guy (Michael Ironside) is trying to organize them to take over the world.  So he's sent to infiltrate Ironside's organization and put a stop to his plans.  I liked this quite a bit.  The characters are great - Ironside's always an excellent villain, McGoohan creates a rather elegant doctor character, and the main guy (Stephen Lack) plays his part with an edgy self confidence that really makes him unique.  The theme music sets an odd, very '80s atmosphere as well.  The plot is fairly interesting and the action moves along at a good clip.  4/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Grace (2009)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaBWFab4xgA&feature=related
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someone here saw this the other day and it sounded interesting. It's one of those I don't know what you call it gross squirmy horror things where everyone is dehydrated and sick and larvae are living in them or something. Theres no larvae in this but you know what I mean. Like

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type sweaty gross out horror. I can just picture the director in a sauna wearing a fur coat, covering himself in dirt and grinning. and bleeding.

The woman who looks like the woman from Cold Case has a baby that wants blood instead of milk. She still wants the boob, but she simply prefers a different nutrient that can be extracted from it. and she is the queen of the flies. The Mom is a vegan, so this makes the blood feeding even more of an issue!! It's definately a unique film and not uncompelling though the pace is strange and slow and the whole thing is pretty well nauseating. All the characters are crazy. Probably the actors playing them are crazy too.

I guess if you are going to make an independent venture you might as well go all out and make it as weird as you really want. It is definately edgy but not lame or unprofessional the writing and acting are good. Somewhere between an 80's horror movie, a Lifetime adventure and Hoarders.

4/5

[InformationGeek]

Poltergeist: Rewatching this before I go to sleep, because, you know, great stuff to see before you sleep, right?   

I just had extra time on my hands with nothing new on TV and I don't have On Demand in my room.  If I had it in my room, I would watch Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs again.

[Jack]

Dracula 2000 (2000) - Van Helsing has had Dracula locked up in a vault for hundreds of years, but some thieves get the idea that you wouldn't build a big fancy vault like that unless you had some really valuable stuff to put in it.  So they break in, find nothing of value except a coffin.  So the coffin must be full of jewels or something, right?  Yeah, right.  Anyhow, Drac gets loose in America and starts hunting down Van Helsing's daughter, with the help of the thieves who he's converted to vampires.  This was good - good characters, an actual plot, a fair amount of action.  It descended into cheesiness at times, but that's fine by me.  4/5.