Recent viewings

[indianasmith]

MALIFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL (2019)

My wife had really wanted to see this a couple weeks ago, and I talked her into JOKER instead.  So we went last night and found it was still playing.  I actually enjoyed this a good deal; it's beautifully filmed, and Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the title character very well.  It's essentially a live action fairy tale, with adorable (and menacing) CGI characters in a fairly predictable plot.  Michelle Pfeiffer, my great 80's celebrity crush, does a marvelous job as the villainous queen who yearns to destroy all the faerie folk of the Moor.  A great flick for kids, and pretty tolerable for grown ups as well.  4/5

[chefzombie]

very cool, i LOVE the first one.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2" (1987)
 In this ultra cheap sequel to the notoriously sleazy Yuletide slasher cult classic, the now-grown kid brother of the Santa Claus killer from the first "SNDN" gives a jailhouse interview that recaps the events of the first film (which gives them an excuse to repeat approx. 30 minutes of footage from the original). Once he's finished going down memory lane, he escapes so he can complete his own murderous Christmas Eve mission to get even with the evil Mother Superior.
... this flick is practically the textbook definition of "so bad, it's good."  The guy playing "Ricky" gives a master class in terrible acting, plus the rampant recycling of clips from the first film is almost like getting two movies for the price of one!
A total holiday horror hoot. All together now, say it with me: GARBAGE DAAAAYYY!

[Rev. Powell]

CLOSURE: After their mother's death, Nina flies to Los Angeles to find her sister, only to discover she's gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Despite the dark subject matter, this is actually a comedy that gets a lot of chuckles out of caricatures of stereotypical Los Angelino weirdos (e.g., people who greet you with "namaste" unironically); a strong script makes up for a budget that's probably just below a cheap network television episode.  3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Child's Play" (2019)
A single Mom buys her lonely son the latest new high tech "smart" toy - a walking, talking, learning doll that calls itself "Chucky." Unfortunately, the toy's programming goes awry, and its idea of preserving its "friendship" with the kid soon turns lethal for everyone around him.
I didn't have very high hopes for this 21st century update of the long running slasher series but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the "new look" for Chucky is crap but there's some pretty legit gore (the scene involving a table saw is friggin' brutal) and fine voice work by Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill as the evil Chucky. Better than I expected.

[Gabriel Knight]

THE MACHINIST (2004)

An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I remember watching this movie when it came out but since then I had barely any memories of it, only the scene of the accident with the hand and the twist ending, but I didn't even remembered it was with Christian Bale. Anyway, I think it's a great movie and a huge class about the foreshadowing technique (the spooky ride basically tells you the whole plot with its imagery), but for me, it has a very negative and dark tone, sadly. I considered this movie very similar to THE NUMBER 23, which I think it's much more engaging and not only has a quicker pace, but also ends with a much more uplifting note.
I don't know anything about acting but I do believed the character of Trevor Reznik was losing his mind, so I guess Bale did a good job. Not to mention, his transformation is really commendable. One thing I didn't liked was the revelation of the twist at the end: it happens for no real reason except "let's wrap this thing". He just remembers the whole thing all of the sudden, basically. It's interesting tho that happens exactly at 1:30 running time, just like the accident. Of course this was intended but again, I don't see any reason behind it except being trivia fodder.
Another thing that I really didn't get was his relationship with Stevie: what purpose that served? At no point he finds redemption on her, nor peace of mind. Hell, he even finishes off with her in one of the worst possible ways, when everything seemed to go in the right direction; a really depressing turn of events there, and I'm still trying to figure out her role in the plot. I mean, if you remove her, nothing changes.

Still, an interesting movie to watch, and to analyze. 7/10 

[lester1/2jr]

Bad Samaritan  - it's a "conundrum" movie a la ...I don't know "Indecent proposal"? A small time crooks break into a rich guys house to rob it and discovers that he has a girl he's keeping prisoner there. WHAT WOULD YOU DO???

Director definitely could have made more of this aspect of the tension, but it's pretty good anyway. Some laudable if not actually funny attempts at levity help, and also a full inclusion of iphone technology as an aspect of things. We don't have to pretend theres no cell phone coverage on any random roads that aren't in downtown Los Angeles or that the internet doesn't exist.

There are a s**tload of quickly made horror and suspense type movies out there and this is part of that but one of the better ones, maybe by accident but nevertheless. acting is pretty mediocre. the main guy has weird hair and isn't very charismatic. and he's British for some reason wtf

4/5

Midsommar (2019) - If I was a film school teacher and a kid turned this in I would quit and say "YOU teach". While other directors are out there making lobotmized Fincher imitations this guy has a totally different setting, different characters, and creates a whole believable universe. As good or better than Hereditary. I liked how he worked "weird" stuff in in logical ways. not sure what more people would want from a movie. for it to bake cookies for you? I watched it in one sitting.

highest possible rec 5/5

[indianasmith]

Bad Samaritan  - it's a "conundrum" movie a la ...I don't know "Indecent proposal"? A small time crooks break into a rich guys house to rob it and discovers that he has a girl he's keeping prisoner there. WHAT WOULD YOU DO???

Director definitely could have made more of this aspect of the tension, but it's pretty good anyway. Some laudable if not actually funny attempts at levity help, and also a full inclusion of iphone technology as an aspect of things. We don't have to pretend theres no cell phone coverage on any random roads that aren't in downtown Los Angeles or that the internet doesn't exist.

There are a s**tload of quickly made horror and suspense type movies out there and this is part of that but one of the better ones, maybe by accident but nevertheless. acting is pretty mediocre. the main guy has weird hair and isn't very charismatic. and he's British for some reason wtf

4/5

Midsommar (2019) - If I was a film school teacher and a kid turned this in I would quit and say "YOU teach". While other directors are out there making lobotmized Fincher imitations this guy has a totally different setting, different characters, and creates a whole believable universe. As good or better than Hereditary. I liked how he worked "weird" stuff in in logical ways. not sure what more people would want from a movie. for it to bake cookies for you? I watched it in one sitting.

highest possible rec 5/5

MIDSOMAR was amazing, creepy, repulsive, and fascinating.  I couldn't stop watching!

[Rev. Powell]

Bad Samaritan  - it's a "conundrum" movie a la ...I don't know "Indecent proposal"? A small time crooks break into a rich guys house to rob it and discovers that he has a girl he's keeping prisoner there. WHAT WOULD YOU DO???

Director definitely could have made more of this aspect of the tension, but it's pretty good anyway. Some laudable if not actually funny attempts at levity help, and also a full inclusion of iphone technology as an aspect of things. We don't have to pretend theres no cell phone coverage on any random roads that aren't in downtown Los Angeles or that the internet doesn't exist.

There are a s**tload of quickly made horror and suspense type movies out there and this is part of that but one of the better ones, maybe by accident but nevertheless. acting is pretty mediocre. the main guy has weird hair and isn't very charismatic. and he's British for some reason wtf

4/5

Midsommar (2019) - If I was a film school teacher and a kid turned this in I would quit and say "YOU teach". While other directors are out there making lobotmized Fincher imitations this guy has a totally different setting, different characters, and creates a whole believable universe. As good or better than Hereditary. I liked how he worked "weird" stuff in in logical ways. not sure what more people would want from a movie. for it to bake cookies for you? I watched it in one sitting.

highest possible rec 5/5

MIDSOMAR was amazing, creepy, repulsive, and fascinating.  I couldn't stop watching!

Glad you guys liked MIDSOMMAR, I thought I was the only one.

[lester1/2jr]

Hereditary was hard to top but he did it, though it's somewhat less scary

[Rev. Powell]

Hereditary was hard to top but he did it, though it's somewhat less scary

I think I like HERDITARY better, but it's close.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dr. No" (1962)
James Bond travels to Jamaica and meets a crazed scientist with plans to sabotage the U.S. space program.
007's big screen debut is a pretty straightforward, cloak-and-dagger spy flick that lacks the elaborate bells and whistles of later installments, but it's still a fun watch cuz Sean Connery is '60s cool personified and there's plenty of action and (of course) female eye candy. The legend starts here!

[Rev. Powell]

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (2018): A man searches for a woman from his past, who may be nothing but a dream. Very slow and confusing (some characters are ghosts or memories from the past) but with beautiful camerawork: there is a single tracking shot that lasts for an hour, an incredible accomplishment. A Chinese movie with no relationship to the famous play. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

RIFFTRAX: MST3K REUNION SHOW: Shot in 2016, just before the revival of the series on Netflix, this special gathered together the cast of the old series along with new host Jonah Ray to riff on (in separated teams, then all nine together) for two hours. I saw this live in theaters when it came out; the DVD/Blu-ray has extras like the fake trivia slides that played before the broadcast and 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage. To be honest, the riffing is fine but not exceptional, but it hits exactly the right nostalgia notes (despite being almost as much an advertisement for Rifftrax as a celebration of MST3K). 3.5 if you have a casual interest in the series, a must-have for fans.

[Dr. Whom]

"Cobra" (1986)

A super-tough L.A. cop protects a fashion model from a cult of axe wielding maniacs. Yes, that's the entire plot.
This cult classic was essentially a Sylvester Stallone vanity project - he wrote the screenplay, directed a large portion of it, and cast his then-girlfriend, Brigitte Nielsen, as the female lead. It's dumb as a box of rocks, but it's also a ton of shoot'em up, blow'em up fun!

Is that the one with
cultist: We are the future!
Stallone: No, you're history