Recent viewings

[indianasmith]

I haven't been watching a ton of movies lately, but I did make time for two cheesy horror flicks this week.
BUTCHERED features a crew of unlikable teens going to an island off the Carolina coast where a serial killer who just escaped from prison happens to be lurking - they get turned into chopped beef in predictable, gory fashion.  Nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before, but still entertaining. 3/5

HYDRA is a badly done CGI monster starring in a typical SYFY original production - the multi-headed serpent monster seems to never get his fill of eating people.  The creature is actually pretty scary looking; it's a shame he's not better rendered.  With a bigger budget, better effects, and a more convincing plot he could have been terrifying! 2/5

[JaseSF]

The Conjuring (2013): still has some powerful scares and good performances. Its impact is weakened somewhat when one learns it's only loosely based on a supposed true story. Still as a work of fiction, this one is quite good. 4/5

Grabbers (2012): A small Irish village on an isolated island is terrorized by blood-sucking aliens that behave rather like giant leeches living in/near the ocean. Soon our police officer heroes investigating the mystery discover the only defense against the monsters may be getting completely drunk as it makes human blood more toxic. Only if everyone is in that state, how will they be able to hold it together enough to even combat the threat at all?

This was surprisingly entertaining and fun. It felt in many ways like a throwback to the horror films of yesteryear. I enjoyed it.  ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Tales From the Darkside: The Movie" (1989)
The '80s syndicated TV favorite made the jump to the big screen in this anthology horror flick. A boy trying to avoid becoming a witch's dinner distracts her by spinning three tales of terror, involving a mummy on campus, a strangely un-killable cat, and a man unable to keep a dark secret. Fun, tongue-in-cheek stuff with a great cast, incl. Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, David Johansen and Debbie Harry.

[Mofo Rising]

Embrace of the Serpent (2016)

Black and white tale of a South American shaman who leads two different explorers in search of a rare plant, with a 40 year difference between the two expeditions. Quite minimalist in its setup, this is still an ambitious work, covering colonization, economic imperialism, the destruction of indigenous culture under the guise of religious assimilation... the list goes on for a while. There's a scene involving a rubber harvester which is downright horrifying, and that's near the beginning.

I loved it, not that I completely agree with its philosophical underpinnings. The film carries its own mysticism front and center, which explains the odd and deliberate pacing once you get on board. It also avoids the dreaded "magic Indian" stereotype by casting all its characters in both positive and negative lights. At first I was questioning the choice to go black and white, even though it was extremely well shot. The South American jungle is one of the most naturally colorful places on the planet. Even this eventually pays off, though.

Not for everyone, but definitely for me. A singular experience. 5 out of 5 stars.

[lester1/2jr]

House by the River (1950) - This is not on the level of M or geez Metropolis but it's not bad. Typically dark Fritz lang directed story about a guy who murders ("accidentally" to shut her up a la Native Son) his maid then spends the rest of the movie covering it up and so forth. The setting is in like the 1890's so all the women wear these huge gone with the Wind dresses except it doesn't seem like it's the south i don't know where it is.

It's a decent crime story but unlike say Hitchcocks "Rope" it doesn't really have a hook or tension to it that makes it particularly memorable. It's basically a regular noir thing with a regular cast and budget directed by a really good director so somewhat limited in it's effect.

3.75/5

[Rev. Powell]

Embrace of the Serpent (2016)
It also avoids the dreaded "magic Indian" stereotype by casting all its characters in both positive and negative lights.

I love that the main character was so flawed, so much more honorable than the old "noble savage" stereotype. (Though that "magic Indian" stereotype can still be done well, like Nobody in DEAD MAN).

A disappointing double-feature:

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016): This remake of the 1984 hit has a bunch of renegade female scientists teaming up to fight a plague of ghosts and cameos in Manhattan. You can't blame this one's failure on the female casting---well, except for comedy-crushing Kate McKinnon. A generous 2/5.

S.F.W. (1994): A teenage wastroid becomes a national mega-celebrity after surviving 36 days as a hostage due to his irresistible philosophy of SFW: "so f**king what"? If you're out of your teens, "S.F.W."? will probably describe your reaction to the juvenile romanticism on display here. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Silent Night, Bloody Night" (1972)
It's Christmas Eve in New England, and a mansion that's been empty for 20 years is about to go on the selling block. Some interested parties and curiosity seekers drop by only to learn that an axe wielding maniac has been calling the place home. Yikes!
A moody, creepy piece of early 70s gothic horror, unfortunately the copy I watched was in such poor condition that it was tough to tell exactly what was going on at times, especially during the night time scenes.
This flick was remade a couple of years ago as "Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming," which I may check out next.

[lester1/2jr]

Decoy (1946) - meh as they say. the first part rips off a dozen Boris Karloff movies in having a gyu get fried for something then revived. The next part is an entirely predictable film noir. very phoned in and stupid, though the girl is decent looking and the acting is okay besides the goofy doctor guy. Psycho couldn't come soon enough


2/5

[Rev. Powell]

JUBILEE (1978): An angel takes Elizabeth I to see the future of Britain, now an anarchic rubble-strewn wreck ruled by roving gangs of female-led punks. It's just your average experimental time-travel transgressive queer art punk musical satire of the period. 3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Resolution (2012) - This indy horror movie has nods to Intervention and The Blair Witch Project but is also an almost absurd combination of those two things. It got a 100% rating on rotten tomatoes, probably because it's combination of sale-ability, overt "acting" (the withdrawl scenes), and home made feel appeals to fanboys of varying stripes. it's just okay though. the combination of detoxing junkie and horror elements are kept largely separate and it never really coalesces into a larger thing.

2.75 /5

[dean]

JUBILEE (1978): An angel takes Elizabeth I to see the future of Britain, now an anarchic rubble-strewn wreck ruled by roving gangs of female-led punks. It's just your average experimental time-travel transgressive queer art punk musical satire of the period. 3/5.

I just bought the soundtrack on vinyl at a record fair here cheap and at least three of the sellers were jealous I got it for a steal. One waxed about how weird it was and that the movie kind of freaked him out, and then said 'but I thought the same thing about Monty Python's Holy Grail so what do I know". Second hand record sellers are an odd bunch...

[Rev. Powell]

JUBILEE (1978): An angel takes Elizabeth I to see the future of Britain, now an anarchic rubble-strewn wreck ruled by roving gangs of female-led punks. It's just your average experimental time-travel transgressive queer art punk musical satire of the period. 3/5.

I just bought the soundtrack on vinyl at a record fair here cheap and at least three of the sellers were jealous I got it for a steal. One waxed about how weird it was and that the movie kind of freaked him out, and then said 'but I thought the same thing about Monty Python's Holy Grail so what do I know". Second hand record sellers are an odd bunch...

If you're into real period punk the soundtrack would be a great acquisition. I read that a lot of big names like the Sex Pistols were originally supposed to be involved, but dropped out because they didn't think the director (art-school type Derek Jarman) really understood or liked the movement.

[lester1/2jr]

These Final Hours (2013) - it's the end of the end of the end of the world ( reference http://badkidsjokes.tumblr.com/post/52056342569/man-eat-wee) and people in Australia aren't having any of that Left behind stuff. No, they are mostly into committing horrible crimes and having Caligula- esque parties. (example: two guys playing russian Roulette onstage while in the pool... lets not talk about whats going on in the pool.)



For all the faults you could find with it: I didn't need to see the main guys butt and Australia's suburban landscape seems remarkably bland, its engrossing and memorable and probably pretty realistic hopefully we won't find out next week.

5/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Prisoners of the Lost Universe" (1983)

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A science experiment gone wrong sends a TV reporter (Kay Lenz) and a handyman (Richard "Battlestar Galactica" Hatch) into an alternate dimension populated by ogres, elves, and dudes with green skin, where they do battle with an iron fisted medieval warlord (John Saxon). Yes, it's just as silly as it sounds.

This is some seriously cheap action-adventure/fantasy crap that plays like an extended episode of a Saturday morning kids' show like "Land of the Lost." Fortunately there were numerous shots of Lenz's legs on display, which helped make this watchable; otherwise, I felt embarrassed for everyone involved.
AVOID.

[claws]

Schizoid (1980)

Somebody is killing the females of a therapy group supervised by eccentric Klaus Kinski playing a sleazy doctor. He has sex with almost everyone from the group while constantly fighting with his 16 year old daughter Donna Wilkes (Jaws 2), who also screws any guy at any place. A newspaper columnist (Marianna Hill - Messiah of Evil) in the group appears to be the next target of the killer, and as she does her own investigations she must deal with Kinski, her ex-husband Craig "Body Double" Wasson and a cocky maintenance guy played by Christopher Lloyd.

Giallo-like slasher with a sexist atmosphere. The movie has its moments but also lots of shortcomings. Even though Kinski was totally out of place and not convincing playing a psychiatrist I really enjoyed the cast of familiar faces. Rating 2.5/5