Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE INNKEEPERS (2011): A pair of hotel clerks decide to investigate the legend of a ghost said to haunt their hotel in the last days before it's closed; they'll wish they hadn't. Old fashioned ghost story that's well made but too slow paced and low key for most horror fans. 2.5/5.

[claws]

Sabretooth (2002) - Sci-Fi Original type thing about a sabretooth cat genetically engineered by Vanessa Angel and funded by the always cheesy and always enjoyable John Rhys-Davies, that gets loose and starts munching on some campers in the local woods. David Keith plays a big game hunter who's called in to save the day. Silly fun, with enjoyable characters and terrible CGI. A favorite of mine. 4/5.

This was one of my very first Imported DVDs I bought. Not much choice when you are located in Europe without a credit card but eager to watch the latest US releases on home video. This German based mail order company had outrageous prices. I paid 40€ for the Lionsgate Sabretooth DVD, that would be around $50 these days 
Fun flick, but the CGI shots of the creature are done pretty bad. But then again, it was a SyFy sort of movie so what to expect ...

I'd say it was the worst CGI sabretooth I'd ever seen, but then there's Attack of the Sabretooth that's actually much, much worse lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZkblH8Q22I

  Yes, I also bought and own that one. Thankfully I was able to pay much less because the movie isn't worth much 

[Jack]

^ I see I can get a used copy on Amazon for 70 cents.  Hmmm...gonna have to think about that 


Blue Demon (2004) - scientists create some killer sharks, they get loose and start munching on beach goers. This had a few moments of fun cheesiness here and there, but had turned into an outright comedy by the end. Characters were ordinary, plot was cliched. A guy survives a nuclear blast even though he was maybe 100 feet away from it - because the door was made of lead. True story. 2.5/5.

[Jack]

The Severed Arm (1973) - five guys are trapped in a caved-in mine until they're so hungry they could eat an arm. Ironically rescuers show up about a minute after they've performed the amputation. Five years later, the rather resentful one-armed guy begins stalking and killing the others. They're extremely stupid so it's pretty easy. This was very slow moving with characters that were adequate at best, but it did manage to have some '70s style suspense. I got this in a Mill Creek 50 pack and the stupid thing just returns me to the menu about ten minutes before the end of the movie. You can imagine how crushed I was 2.5/5.

[fulci420]

The Severed Arm (1973) - five guys are trapped in a caved-in mine until they're so hungry they could eat an arm. Ironically rescuers show up about a minute after they've performed the amputation. Five years later, the rather resentful one-armed guy begins stalking and killing the others. They're extremely stupid so it's pretty easy. This was very slow moving with characters that were adequate at best, but it did manage to have some '70s style suspense. I got this in a Mill Creek 50 pack and the stupid thing just returns me to the menu about ten minutes before the end of the movie. You can imagine how crushed I was 2.5/5.

The same thing happened to me! You get used to weird edits, incorrect aspect ratios and mistitled movies through Mill Creeks sets but not even having the ending is a new low! 

[Jack]

The Severed Arm (1973) - five guys are trapped in a caved-in mine until they're so hungry they could eat an arm. Ironically rescuers show up about a minute after they've performed the amputation. Five years later, the rather resentful one-armed guy begins stalking and killing the others. They're extremely stupid so it's pretty easy. This was very slow moving with characters that were adequate at best, but it did manage to have some '70s style suspense. I got this in a Mill Creek 50 pack and the stupid thing just returns me to the menu about ten minutes before the end of the movie. You can imagine how crushed I was 2.5/5.

The same thing happened to me! You get used to weird edits, incorrect aspect ratios and mistitled movies through Mill Creeks sets but not even having the ending is a new low! 

I was wondering if that was just the way the disk was made, as it didn't freeze up or anything, I just got very close to the climax and...back to the menu I went.   

I was half-expecting a twist ending too. 

[Jack]

Messengers 2: The Scarecrow (2009) - a farmer is going broke but then he finds an old scarecrow in a hidden room in his barn. His son tells him to get rid of it - it's evil! - but he puts it in his cornfield and suddenly everything starts to go right for him; the crows who were eating his corn all drop dead, his irrigation pump starts working again, and the banker who was going to foreclose on his farm gets run over by a semi. It's not long before the cops as well as his wife start to get a bit suspicious of him, and it's probably not going to be easy to get rid of that scarecrow.

I thought this was pretty good. The plot is cliched and predictable, but it does throw in one interesting twist. The characters were good, I especially liked the farmer's wife, played by Heather Stephens, who also starred in The Frankenstein Theory. And the whole thing was just well written and well directed, and maintained a nice sense of suspense and tension throughout. At least in my opinion. 3.75/5.

[claws]

Tootsie (1982)

A difficult to work with Actor dresses up as a woman, changes his name to Dorothy and auditions for a part in a TV soap. He/She gets the job and soon enough Dorothy becomes a fan-fave amongst viewers. When he falls in love with a co-starring Actress on set things start to get even more complicated...

Strangely enough I haven't seen this movie since video rental days, and for some unknown reason I never caught Tootsie when it was airing on TV over the years. I thought it was time for a re-visit when they announced a German Blu-ray, so I bought the disc this week. This was like a first time viewing, in widescreen and HD to boot. The movie hasn't lost any of it's charm though appears to be a bit dated but hey, this was the crazy 80s so all is good. 5/5

[Rev. Powell]

TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008): A female cop in Tokyo's private police force fights against a plague of mutant serial killers. Along with MACHINE GIRL this was the flick that launched the current Japanese tsunami of pulp-surreal gore comedies; with its satirical commercials, over-the-top bloody set pieces, and general bizarre atmosphere, TGP is probably the apex of the mini-genre. 3.5/5.

[Jack]

Æon Flux (2005) - 99% of the human population has died due to a disease, but scientist Trevor Goodchild came up with a cure and 400 years later the survivors live in a utopian city called Bregna. Of course all is not well and a group of rebels known as Monicans seek to overthrow the government. Charlize Theron, which is nearly as odd a name as Æon Flux, is the #1 agent for the Monicans and is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but complications ensue. This wasn't bad. It's rather stylish looking - not in the art design or cinematography but just in the CGI. Theron doesn't really bring anything to the lead role except a nice butt in skintight pants; I seem to remember the animated character in the old MTV series being far more elegantly perverse. The TV series always had plots that were bizarre as hell, yet here we get a rather straightforward sci-fi political drama with a twist that any Star Trek fan could see coming a mile away.

Overall though it was fairly enjoyable.  3.75/5.

[claws]

The Blue Lagoon (1980)

Two naked kids and one fat alcoholic man with sleazy tattoos are stranded on an island. Fattie teaches the kids a thing or two about survival before he dies dead drunk. Years later the kids have grown into strapping teenagers lusting each other, and soon enough they get their freak on more than once. Nine months later they are blessed with a baby, and some years later they drift from the island in a row boat after consuming berries that supposed to put them to sleep forever.

Never seen before and I guess for good reason. This movie never appealed to me in younger years but I was ready now once a Blu-ray release was announced. The Blue Lagoon is cheesy fun with non-stop opportunities to make fun of. Besides that you get some beautiful scenery shot on exotic location. 4/5

[Mofo Rising]

A bunch of old MGM b-movies are disappearing from Netflix Instant on May 1, including many old Empire productions.

A few of the vanishing films I watched:

Wild in the Streets (1968) - A time capsule if their ever was one. A 24-yr old rock star and his band (including a young Richard Pryor) foray into politics. They fight to have the voting age lowered to 14. Once it's lowered, they stage a fascist youth overthrow of the government and have everybody over 30 tossed into concentration camps(!). Features "groovy" '60s music.

The Dungeonmaster (1984) - '80s Empire cheese. Features seven separate directors, the band W.A.S.P., and Bull from "Night Court."

Ghost Warrior (1986) - Another Empire film. Feudal Japanese samurai is resurrected in '80s Los Angeles. Also includes the band W.A.S.P. because it has a whole clip from The Dungeonmaster shown on a television.

Message From Space (1978) - Unbelievable Japanese rip-off of Star Wars. Not a good movie, but very entertaining if you're into that sort of thing. Example, one character on finding a glowing walnut in his drink: "I have been chosen by the gods!"

If you're on Netfllix, check your b-movie queue and get watching, because a lot of it might be going away soon. (Then again, maybe it won't.)

[Jack]

^ I'll have to check a few of those out.  I remember Message From Space being hilarious 

[alandhopewell]

     DARK CITY (1998)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_City_(1998_film)

     A very strange sci-fi / noir flick, which I'd seen years ago, then ran across a copy of at Hastings for $3.99

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSpowoKqSzc
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     Trace and her sister watched it with me this morning, and they both enjoyed it.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" (2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxg9aXTPKrc
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Third installment of the family comedy series follows our junior-high schooler hero Greg Heffley through a particularly disastrous summer vacation that includes a new pet, a trip to the beach, a Boy Scout campout and a Sweet Sixteen party featuring his brother Rodrick's (awful) band, "Loded Diper!" 

This one wasn't as good as the previous two "Wimpy Kid" installments but there were still some chuckles to be had and both of my kids enjoyed it.