Recent viewings

[HappyGilmore]

Jackass 3D---well worth the price of admission for a 3D flick.  Lots of crazy action, Rip Taylor shows up, puke, pee, poop, stunts, bits, holy Hell it was a good movie.

[sideorderofninjas]

Infernal Affairs

[spongekryst]

The Sci Fi Boys- Decent documentary about the new blood of science fiction/special effects films talking about the old dogs of the trade. Mostly Peter Jackson on Ray Harryhausen, but there are several others.

Little Monsters- This is decent 90's cheesiness with some bizarre, actually scary effects. It doesn't make sense at points and the monster is widely considered to be a rip off of Beetlejuice's personality, but you still can't help but love it, or at least I can't. The plot is almost mirrored by the animated film, Monsters Inc., but they both have very different feels to them.

Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood- This was garbage. The Lep NEVER uses magic and practically gets his ass handed to him every scene. No where near as weird or semi-humorous as the first "hood" attempt. Stick to 3 and 4 (yeah, I said it, 4).

Assault of the Sasquatch- Surprised by how good it was, a lot of practical effects used in this one, which is comforting. Youtube personalities Shawn Phillips and MJ (sorry, don't know your last name, dude) have a small part that is actually pretty funny. Recommended to the fair citizens of this web site for sure. 

[retrorussell]

Watched Hell Night last night.  Seen it before (especially on cable in the early 80's), not bad.

[lester1/2jr]

I'm halfway through "the Greatest Story Ever told" I don't normally note a movie if I haven't finished it but it's 3 hours and 20 minutes long! excellent so far

[JaseSF]

Beauty and the Beast (1991): The Disney adaptation of the classic tale. A prince turned into a Beast by an Enchantress hopes to break the curse under which he's been placed but in order to do so, he must fall in love and be loved in return which seems pretty unlikely when you look like a monster making Beast a rather nasty, grumpy fellow most of the time. Meanwhile Belle is a young woman who desires adventure and something different from the ordinary. Circumstances eventually bring these two together and Beast's hard heart finally begins to soften.

Watched this with my girlfriend. It's her movie. I quite enjoyed it. Sure it's a predictable romantic fantasy adventure with arguably too many cutesy songs and cutesy characters but the basic core of the story is well done with Belle and the Beast both proving surprisingly well-developed characters whom we eventually come to know and care about. Also Beast does seem a bit too nasty early on and I really think a scene or two that established that he was in reality less nasty deep down might have helped things just a tad although it might have made things even more predictable too. Good support voice work, especially from Angela Lansbury, and some neat comedy help to keep this moving. Very well done Disney movie. Now I know why it was so popular. Yes it was my first time seeing it. **** out of ***** stars.

[HappyGilmore]

Little Monsters- This is decent 90's cheesiness with some bizarre, actually scary effects. It doesn't make sense at points and the monster is widely considered to be a rip off of Beetlejuice's personality, but you still can't help but love it, or at least I can't. The plot is almost mirrored by the animated film, Monsters Inc., but they both have very different feels to them.

This movie is why I now no longer drink Apple Juice.

[Jack]

Watched Hell Night last night.  Seen it before (especially on cable in the early 80's), not bad.

I've got to watch that one of these pre-Halloween nights, I really enjoyed that movie.

[3mnkids]

The Thaw~ Researchers in the arctic find a woolly mammoth and a nasty little parasite.

I was pleasantly surprised by this.  I had to cover my eyes a couple of times and it made me squirm.. that's always good.       definitely worth watching.

[lester1/2jr]

I liked the Thaw. 

MST3K Final Sacrifise - "Shoot, I'm in Canada" much beloved Mike era episode and for good reason: it's freakin funny. Very low budget very Canadian movie about a machete wielding cult in the woods. The plot requires a total rewrite of known scientific history: long ago there was an amazing civilization in Alberta and these are the remnants or whatever. Not my all time favorite episode, that would be the ed wood porn on or "begining of the end" or I don't even know actually, but a choice episode for sure. 5/5

[Rev. Powell]

AFTER LAST SEASON (2009): Two medical students encounter threadbare sets, dull conversations between extraneous characters, a serial killer, telepathy technology, an MRI machine, lots of incongruous shots of furniture, and a ghost in this baffling movie.  It's so odd and badly constructed that people have debated whether it's a hoax or an avant-garde experiment rather than just a plain old bad movie; one thing is sure, the only real point of interest is in trying to figure out what in the world the director was thinking with some of the choices he makes here.  1/5.     

[Rev. Powell]

AFTER LAST SEASON (2009): Two medical students encounter threadbare sets, dull conversations between extraneous characters, a serial killer, telepathy technology, an MRI machine, lots of incongruous shots of furniture, cheesy geometric CAD animation, and a ghost in this baffling movie.  It's so odd and badly constructed that people have debated whether it's a hoax or an avant-garde experiment rather than just a plain old bad movie; one thing is sure, the only real point of interest is in trying to figure out what in the world the director was thinking with some of the choices he makes here.  1/5.     

[Joe the Destroyer]

Just watched May (2002).  Very creepy.  Very awkward.  I enjoyed it. 

[lester1/2jr]

Aimee and Jaguar (1999) - Whoah how did I miss this? a lesbian love affair set in the third reich between a slutty jewish girl and an aryan looking soldier's wife ? Is this Italian? Oh man it's GERMAN!! oh wait...it's chick flick aaigh!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGwcU31U_Lg
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             Well this isn't really my type of thing after all but I enjoyed it. There are certain genres like gothic stuff that I can tolerate in relatively small doses. I appreciate the variety but when they are done I am usually eager to go back to more familiar stuff and that is the case here.  I'm also not a big nazi enthusiast but do happen to be reading a book about the third reich called the vampire economy which is a very dry though enlightening rundown of the various elements of the nazi economy (which was little more than a demented hodgepodge of socialism, feudalism, and other none too glorious isms but I digress). This is pretty well the polar opposite of that. It's alot of women talking and having ups and downs in their relationship. There is not much politics, action, or cinematography. Most of it is just them in rooms having drama. Hey women, you talk alot.

       They're nicknames for each other are Aimee and Jaguar but they never call each other that, they call each other Felice and Lily but I guess Aimee and Jaguar is a bit better than Felice and Lilly to sell the thing.  Felice is one of those real cunning confident lesbians who could easily take a guy's girlfriend. 2 hours and 5 mins went by smoothly. very good nazi era lesbian soap opera. next!

4.5/5

[JaseSF]

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): The Pumpkin King of Halloweentown - Jack Skellington, getting bored with the sameness of every yearly Halloween, stumbles across Christmastown and is delighted by all the new possibilities surrounding Christmas leading to Jack having Santa Claus kidnapped determined to take Santa's place only Jack and his macabre Halloweentown friends cannot quite grasp the concepts behind Christmas.

The stop-motion fantasy written by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick is a poetic delight. It manages to create a dark Halloween inspired fable of how characters in a place obsessed with Halloween might recreate Christmas. What follows is bizarre to say the least but also unquestionably entertaining. The movie is dark and clever yet it never becomes truly mean in its execution which is why I think it works so well. The characters of Halloweentown might be a bit scary and unsettling to look at as are sometimes their methods yet despite this, they somehow remain lovable buffoons perfect for the chaos and craziness of Halloween. The songs and the movie as a whole is just perfect escapist fantasy fun. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Frankenweenie (1984): after his beloved dog Sparky is accidentally run down by a car, a young Victor Frankenstein decides to use science, and electricity in particular, to bring Sparky back to life with surprisingly hilarious consequences.

This short is pretty straight forward a dark fantasy comedy. It's very over the top in terms of execution but this is surprisingly funny and entertaining. Somehow the Frankensteins have been relocated to what looks like a 1950s suburban American town but the mix makes for something quite refreshing and unique. The choice to film the short in black and white adds to the experience too tying it in well with the classic 1931 Frankenstein which is largely parodied in the plot. *** out of ***** stars.

Vincent (1982): a bored young boy named Victor Malloy prefers to pretend he's in reality Vincent Price in mourning for his dead wife when not plotting to turn his pet dog Abercrombie into a giant roaming zombie.

Narrated by Vincent Price, this little stop-motion short is quite a delight. It makes obvious references to Price and his macabre movies, especially those based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and remains true to their spirit while also giving us a glimpse of a boy's fantasy, one that seems rather well-fitted to director Tim Burton himself. At only 5 minutes, this never overstays its welcome and in fact, one longs for a little bit more. ***1/2 out of *****

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983): Two bored young boys in a Midwestern American town come to long for their previous peace and solitude when an omnious dark carnival arrives in town and they soon find themselves the target of its leader Mr. Dark, who's determined to stop the boys from letting the rest of the town know the secret of just what and who those in the carnival really are or of their decidedly evil intentions.

I have to say I was stunned at how adult the themes displayed in this film, which still feels very much like a kids film, are not to mention how gory it is. That said, watching it as an adult, this movie is positively eerie and downright creepy. Had I seen it as a kid, it probably would have given me nightmares for days if not weeks. That's not to say it doesn't have some flaws - the FX work isn't always convincing in particular and some characters just do not seem as sympathetic as I think we're meant to feel for them. Aside from that though, this did pack a wallop and seems fairly faithful to the spirit of Ray Bradbury's story. Apparently there were some issues between Bradbury wanting to stay close to the novel and the director wanting the film to be more family friendly which I think one can see there was a bit of conflict watching the film. Also Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark steals the show with his unsettling character when Pam Grier doesn't as his accomplice the Dust Witch. It's not a great film but it really is quite good. *** out of ***** stars.