Recent viewings

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched a very cool horror film called THE DAMNED.

An American father travels to Columbia to bring his 19 year old daughter back home so she can take part in his wedding.
They have to drive across the mountains to her aunt's house (his deceased wife was Columbian) to pick up her passport.
On the way they have a car accident and take shelter in an abandoned inn, guarded by a strange old man called Felipe.
The daughter goes to the bathroom and hears cries coming from the basement.  She and her boyfriend go down to check
it out and find a little girl about 11 years old locked in a box like chamber.  They free her, and Felipe goes crazy and threatens
them with a gun - the Dad knocks him out, and then the group of five come face to face with the fact that what they have
released is not a little girl at all, but an ancient and utterly evil spirit that can jump from one body to another.

Great atmosphere, building suspense, and excellent acting.  I really liked this one!

4/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Video Games: The Movie" (2014)

VIDEO GAMES : THE MOVIE Trailer (2014)

A disappointingly dry documentary about the video game industry and its effects on technology, the entertainment industry, and pop culture in general that looks nice but has very little to say. I was hoping for something a little more in-depth about video game history (particularly the early years of arcade games ) but this flick barely scratches the surface, giving you a condensed, Cliffs Notes version mixed with interviews with various gaming biggies all saying, in effect, "Video games are cool and they'll always be cool." Skip this one and watch "The King of Kong" instead.

[Trevor]

"The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Original Trailer

...yeah, the Christmas movies are turning up on Netflix already; my kids asked me to watch this with them. :D

Anyway, Kermit, Fozzy, Gonzo and the gang's version of the Charles Dickens holiday classic is actually quite faithful to the source material (aside from some added Muppet-y sight gags), with a great turn by Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge. This may actually be one of the better film versions of it that I've seen!

I hate to admit it but the ending of this made me cry. Great movie and very heart-warming. 

[claws]

Gute Reise ("Have a nice trip") (1981)

A group of people traveling on a train discuss the pros and cons of small meals after one of the passengers is seen eating a sandwich. Soon enough they are preparing a dinner in their carriage, initialized by a man and his mysterious gimmick suitcase that can be made into a stove top cooking device of some sorts. When Conductors interfere the group board up but not for long. Other passengers join in and everybody is having a relaxed good time drinking wine. Authorities are informed, and when the police arrive the carriage takes off into the air.
Odd but amusing and sympathetic comedy made for German TV. I guess the message was 'breaking the rules gently' and giving the wink-of-an-eye middle finger to stiff and dried up bureaucracy. 4/5

Frau werden, von Walter zu Waltraud ("Becoming a Woman, from Walter to Waltraud") (198?)

German TV documentary about a transsexual lesbian man changing into a woman by operation. Walter becomes Waltraud Schiffels (now a author), and Waltraud talks about how her life has changed. I must admit there is a certain degree of unintentional humor throughout. Waltraud sort of looks like a man in bad drag, talking in a deep voice about her desire to meet up with other women. She gets angry when passing 'horny' truck drivers on the autobahn because they 'lustfully' stare at her legs when wearing a skirt. Lots of awkwardness when Waltraud invites friends and family to her sex change party, handing out candy wrapped in napkins as small gifts. 4/5 and this concludes my viewing of German oddities.

[Rev. Powell]

WE ARE THE BEST (2013): Thirteen-year old girls in 1980s Stockholm form a punk band. My mediocre rating is inflated to reflect the ample anecdotal evidence that there are some people out there who do not consider this heartwarming tale of fast friendships and minor triumphs boring. 2.5/5.

[JaseSF]

The Secret Life of Girls (1999): A teenage girl named Natalie (Majandra Delfino) brings the family issue of her father Hugh (Eugene Levy)'s affair with a student out in the open forcing her 1970s family to stop living in denial about their individual issues.

While this has some inspired moments here and there particularly during long-time housewife turned recent divorcee Ruby (Linda Hamilton)'s revelations about her lot in life, there's very little here we haven't seen done before in other films. Definitely has a feminist bent and vibe to it. Honestly it's just not really my kind of film at all.  Decent performances though from Delfino, Hamilton, and a surprisingly low-key Levy. Nothing here though to make one watch this more than one time IMO. **1/2 out of ***** stars.

[Trevor]

HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS: I saw this early this morning, can't explain the ending and I am not sure if it's bad or good. 

[Jack]

Star Slammer (1986) - watched this again. Futuristic Fred Olen Ray women in prison flick...um, do I need to say more? Cartoonishly silly and with less nudity than you'd expect, but I was in the mood for it last night and enjoyed it. Characters weren't bad. 3.5/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Side Out (1990) - Sometimes you need to get back to your roots. No high concept Tarantino isms or female friendly emotional plot lines here, just C thomas Howell (who's terrible in that great C Thomas Howell way) Peter Horton ("Thirtysomething" guy who appears to have a sunburn or is just red) and Courtney thorne Smith who is like when is my career gonna start in a light as air summer flick about the then hot (I guess) trend of beach volleyball.

The first thing you notice is all the other volleyball players are bigger and stronger than the two actors why didn't they get shorter other players? In general though it's fun and you got Paula Abdul "straight up" and B-52's "Rome" and other 80's cheese on the soundtrack while you're getting emotionally invested in people making it in the apparently lucrative very famous world of beach v ball which most people will never play sober or for more than 4 minutes. 5/5

If you like slow motion shots of people spiking volleyballs...step right up



"nice shot, cheese dick"

[Rev. Powell]

FORCE MAJEURE (2014): A husband's instinctual reaction on a ski vacation causes a growing rift in the family. Thanks to the Alpine scenery, it's more pleasant than a long talk about your relationship. 3/5.

[JaseSF]

Kicked in the Head (1997): An aimless wannabe writer/slacker named Redmond (Kevin Corrigan) finds himself getting further and further in trouble after agreeing to deliver a bag of drugs at the request of his shady Uncle Sam (James Woods) only for the exchange to go wildly bad. We watch as Redmond associates with assorted quirky, weird New York characters and pursues his dream girl, a stewardess named Megan (Linda Fiorentino) whom he comes to believe might be an angel sent to rescue him.

This has some good moments here and there. Unfortunately most of these feature the supporting characters and not our lead. Michael Rapaport and Burt Young play some memorable oddball supporting characters who play an important part here. I really liked some of the philosophical discourse between characters although honestly much of this took place between characters who are inebriated or under the influence of drugs. Best of all was the conversation about the differences between what men and women want and the conversation about the Planet of the Apes film series. Sadly it's hard to really like or root for Redmond as he comes across as such a whiny loser for most of the film's running time. In many ways, the relationship between him and Megan feels like role reversal with Megan picking him up for a one-night stand with Redmond being a character waiting for someone else to save him or help him out. Fiorentino looks smoking in this but I really couldn't understand why she would settle for an aimless loser like Redmond. A good cast and a potentially interesting film only in the end, it doesn't offer up anything truly original and its lead leaves a lot to be desired. Some of the comedy works sometimes, other times it falls rather flat. Suspect some might really enjoy this one, particularly those who can relate to its characters. In the end, there's too many problems though to give it more than *** out of ***** stars.

[indianasmith]

I just watched GHOST BRIDE: TILL DEATH DO US PART, a DTV movie from Midnight Releasing.
A young Chinese immigrant named Jason in New Zealand is in love with a blonde bombshell named
Skye.  Only problem, his mom has paid a matchmaker to fix him up with a traditional Chinese
bride named May Ling.  The fly in the buttermilk is that May Ling is dead!  And she wants Jason dead
so that she can use his soul to reanimate herself, or something like that.  Frankly, this one was a
little boring. 2/5

[FatFreddysCat]

Netflix double feature last night:

With the kiddos:
"The Aristocats" (1970)

The Aristocats - 1980 Reissue Trailer	Small | Large

A family of spoiled French kitties must find their way back to Paris after they're dumped in the wilderness by a villainous butler in this Disney 'toon. Along the way they befriend an alley cat and his friends, a gang of jazz loving "scat cats." Not one of Disney's best but the animation is charmingly old fashioned and the kids were entertained.

"Turbulence" (1997)

Turbulence Theatrical Trailer (1997)	Small | Large

A serial killer (Ray Liotta) being transported on a cross country flight by federal marshals breaks loose in mid-air, turning a Christmas Eve flight into a hell ride for the airline stewardess (Lauren Holly) he's fixated on. This action/suspense thriller doesn't rank very high on the believability scale but the constant mid-air mayhem is fun to watch.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: THE HELLCATS: The experiment is the third (and least popular) entry in the show's "biker trilogy"; it features Ross Hagen going undercover in a smack-dealing cycle gang to find out who killed his brother.  Not a great movie (and a confusing plot) but I like biker flicks so I was amused. They must have run out of time in the writing room because the host segments are random flashbacks to previous host segments (and not even the best ones). This won't be anyone's favorite episode but MST3K is (almost) always good. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dumb & Dumber" (1994)

Dumb & Dumber (1994) trailer	Small | Large

I couldn't resist watching this one again after seeing tons of commercials for the new sequel.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are a pair of morons who set out on a cross country quest to return a "lost" briefcase to Carrey's dream girl (Lauren Holly), causing chaos and mayhem everywhere along the way. "D&D" is stupid as hell but it appeals to my inner 12 year old.