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#11
Bad Movies / Re: RECENT VIEWINGS (Bad Movie...
Last post by M.10rda - October 25, 2026, 02:55:49 PMTHE MADS ARE BACK: PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES (1955):
Boy howdy, this is one of those 50s genre flicks that really makes you appreciate the flavorful if imperfect qualities of a BRAIN-EATERS and especially the wildly creative and entertaining (if batpoop wonky) stylings of Ed Wood's 50s horror flicks. PHANTOM FROM 10K LEAGUES is dull as the dishwater that characters frequently die in. Okay, they're in a big lake or something, not a kitchen sink, yet the water is murkier than this film's screenplay.
Ubiquitous genre stuffed-shirt Kent Taylor wanders around a beach at night, discovers a dead body, and then follows another dude to his cabin... in long slooow wide-shots. This is the first few minutes of PHANTOM, and - brace yourself - the best part of the movie! Its hypnotic pace and lack of expository dialogue (plus suit-wearing Taylor looking out-of-place on a beach at night) reminded me of a David Lynch movie or of John Hayes' extremely cool and creepy '68 flick HELP WANTED FEMALE. Alas, it's all downstream from there...
Yes, there's an absurd-looking sea monster in the lake, and you see him (barely) wrestle characters on a few occasions, but most of the running time is dedicated to a hopelessly convoluted intrigue/espionage plot involving way too many boring human characters, most of whom never appear w/ the monster. I had no idea what was going on on-land after about 20 minutes, and couldn't care less!
I watched "The Mads" version. The earlier stretch of their rifftrack is hilarious (naturally), and they still hit some out of the park thereafter, but even Frank and Trace admit that PHANTOM's badness wore them down after a while. It's grueling and I wouldn't revisit this one... 2/5
Boy howdy, this is one of those 50s genre flicks that really makes you appreciate the flavorful if imperfect qualities of a BRAIN-EATERS and especially the wildly creative and entertaining (if batpoop wonky) stylings of Ed Wood's 50s horror flicks. PHANTOM FROM 10K LEAGUES is dull as the dishwater that characters frequently die in. Okay, they're in a big lake or something, not a kitchen sink, yet the water is murkier than this film's screenplay.
Ubiquitous genre stuffed-shirt Kent Taylor wanders around a beach at night, discovers a dead body, and then follows another dude to his cabin... in long slooow wide-shots. This is the first few minutes of PHANTOM, and - brace yourself - the best part of the movie! Its hypnotic pace and lack of expository dialogue (plus suit-wearing Taylor looking out-of-place on a beach at night) reminded me of a David Lynch movie or of John Hayes' extremely cool and creepy '68 flick HELP WANTED FEMALE. Alas, it's all downstream from there...
Yes, there's an absurd-looking sea monster in the lake, and you see him (barely) wrestle characters on a few occasions, but most of the running time is dedicated to a hopelessly convoluted intrigue/espionage plot involving way too many boring human characters, most of whom never appear w/ the monster. I had no idea what was going on on-land after about 20 minutes, and couldn't care less!
I watched "The Mads" version. The earlier stretch of their rifftrack is hilarious (naturally), and they still hit some out of the park thereafter, but even Frank and Trace admit that PHANTOM's badness wore them down after a while. It's grueling and I wouldn't revisit this one... 2/5
#12
Good Movies / Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2
Last post by M.10rda - October 25, 2026, 02:10:14 PMYeah, sort of expected that about WHALEFALL. The trailer seemed to reveal too much of the film and it seemed like a feature-length anxiety attack/no fun... similar vibes to James Franco stuck w/ his arm under a boulder for two hours or Ryan Reynolds buried alive for 90 minutes. No thanks.
#13
Bad Movies / Re: best 'interquels' (?)
Last post by M.10rda - October 25, 2026, 01:58:59 PMAh, well that is more true. I don't think a faithful adaptation constitutes an "interquel", however. "Interquels" seem a lot easier to locate within single films (like PULP FICTION) or w/in episodic serials... in series of films... tough... I've been stumped.
#14
Good Movies / Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2
Last post by Dalmatian Bobby Samaritan - October 25, 2026, 12:50:12 PMQuote from: M.10rda on October 21, 2026, 12:39:43 PMWe used to have a Golden Corral in these here parts. I only went once or twice but I miss it now. I'm a big man and I love a good buffet. Still got plenty of Indian and Chinese buffets and all-you-can-eat sushi around
but pretty much no American buffets anymore. Sigh. Anyway,
I went to a church and the church I went to changed locations and they bought an out of business Car dealership. And then that building became the new church. Everyone was so pumped up and excited about it. But not me. You could still see the old car dealership decals or washed away logos on the front of the Building. It was sort of like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. This is supposedly an upgrade but I couldn't help but feel like something was taken away or stolen. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee I think works good as a metaphor for anybody you don't have to be Indian or Native America. Some older way of life that you liked (even though it wasn't perfect but still you could manage I mean when you move a muscle you want to pretend at least that you aren't Paul Verhoeven when he made that dust to dust movie Hollow man.) But yeah an older way of life changed like overnight. And now for some reason you feel really depressed. What makes a war. Drilling exploration equipment, says Kenneth Katzman.
I am trying to limit my Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee experiences these days. I know that the next one is going to come anyway, it is inevitable. Saw the movie WhaleFall and walked out at about the thirty minute mark. I think I am definitely officially going to take a Bye for the next underwater creature film.
Sigh..And all of these people who complain about how badly creatures in the wild are being treated. I don't see how making a movie like what I saw helps that cause. It actually hurts it. Perhaps this is just the beginning of a Domino effect in hollywood films about some kind of underwater monster. Maybe it really should have happened in the 1980s and it is just some kind of miracle that it kept going this long. Yeah Mark A. Hall eat your heart out.
#15
Games / Re: Answer the question with a...
Last post by bob - October 25, 2026, 12:17:31 PM
What's wrong with the water?
#17
Off Topic Discussion / Re: And I quote...
Last post by Rev. Powell - October 25, 2026, 11:55:39 AMThis Carl Sagan quote from 1995 has been making the rounds again because of how eerily it seems to describe the current times:
"I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness..."
"I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness..."
#18
Bad Movies / Re: best 'interquels' (?)
Last post by Trevor - October 25, 2026, 10:45:31 AMQuote from: M.10rda on October 25, 2026, 10:17:43 AMIt's possible that PART 4 has brief flashbacks to the first 3, but none of the same actors or characters from the first three appear in 4. If the story has any relation to the previous films, it's purely contextual/in the dialogue. Granted I saw it 35-ish years ago but that was my take at the time.......
I meant that 4 is a faithful adaptation of the original novel.
#19
Good Movies / Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2
Last post by M.10rda - October 25, 2026, 10:21:30 AMThe final scene sets up a sequel. A prequel would be even funnier - all the human characters from the original (except the doctor, who is new to the crew) sail from one port to another, deliver their freight, and absolutely nothing goes awry. 
#20
Bad Movies / Re: best 'interquels' (?)
Last post by M.10rda - October 25, 2026, 10:17:43 AMIt's possible that PART 4 has brief flashbacks to the first 3, but none of the same actors or characters from the first three appear in 4. If the story has any relation to the previous films, it's purely contextual/in the dialogue. Granted I saw it 35-ish years ago but that was my take at the time.......