Recent viewings

[BoyScoutKevin]

Mulholland Drive (2001): I'm sorry to say I gave up after 30 minutes. 

Yeah, it is hard to follow, isn't it? That might be, because it started off as being the pilot episode of what was suppose to be a TV series on ABC,  but . . . ?! When that didn't pan out, additional funds were provided by the French film company Studio Canal, so David Lynch could turn the TV pilot into a feature film.

Having seen it, when it was 1st released to theaters, the best advice I can give to anybody who wants to see it, is don't try to understand it, as like a lot of stuff that Lynch does, it doesn't make much sense. Just enjoy the ride.

[lester1/2jr]

It's a Small World (1950) -This is definitely my favorite William Castle movie that's I've seen. I can't remember much from the other ones: the Joan Crawford one was stupid I can't even think if I've seen a whole other one but if I did I wasn't impressed.



This is about a "midget", of course we say dwarf now, making his way in the world. His grows up in a small ignorant town and mostly stays home because the people are such a***oles. That's the first part the other two are when he works in a circus and another when he lives in the city. The guy, played by Paul Dale, is likeable and not some happy Hollywood little person which is of course the whole point. The best parts are when he lashes out against people who make fun of him or try to exploit him. It's not "Nightmare Alley" but it has touches of the noir type grittiness.

Actually, my favorite part was when the circus sideshow guy takes him to a diner and p**ses him off , so he nonchalantly walks into the bathroom and out the window of the bathroom into a corn field. Only an hour and fifteen minutes long saw on TCM

solid recommendation 4.5/ 5

[major jay]

^THIRTEEN GHOSTS is my favorite of his. It scared the hell out of me when I was a wee slip of a lad.

[lester1/2jr]

I didn't see that

[FatFreddysCat]

I've been slackin' on the movie-watching so far this month, so I made up for it with a double feature last night:

"Psycho" (1960)

Psycho Trailer (50th Anniversary) HD

A female embezzler (Janet Leigh) has an unfortunate run-in with the creepy clerk of a run-down roadside motel (Anthony Perkins) in Alfred Hitchcock's classic suspense/horror thriller. Hadn't seen this one in years, but it still holds up very well.

and then for something completely different....

"The Hebrew Hammer" (2003)

The Hebrew Hammer - Trailer

If "Undercover Brother" was the black "Austin Powers," then this flick is the Jewish "Undercover Brother." Adam Goldberg plays a "Shaft" style Rabbinic bad-ass who has to save Chanukah from a deranged new Santa (Andy Dick at his coked-out best) who wants to wipe it from the December holiday calendar. Every ethnic stereotype you can think of gets aired in this very funny low-budget blaxploitation parody. I guarantee you that this is the only movie you'll ever see where a gun-toting Rabbi says "Shabbat shalom, motherf**kers!"

[claws]

Winter's Tale (2014)

In the early 1900s young thief Peter (Colin Farrell) falls in love with a terminal ill woman. Their short romance is interrupted by a demon (Russell Crowe) in human form out to prevent miracles from happening. The demon succeeds first, but eternal love won't let the thief die. Flash forward to 2014: Peter must regain his memory in order to save a terminal ill girl who is the reincarnation of his first love. Again, he must face the demon who still holds a grudge against Peter.
Big budget romantic drama with a bit of fantasy that pretty much bombed at the box office. I personally think this would have worked better as a full fledged fantasy ala Stardust. A bit disjointed at times but overall solid, with enjoyable characters. Russell Crowe (on roids?) did a good job as the two-fisted demon villain. 4/5

[JaseSF]

Unstoppable (2010): A veteran engineer and a newly on the job conductor may be the only hope to prevent an out of control train carrying a load of toxic chemicals from catastrophically crashing into a populated area.

Really enjoyed this film. Granted the primary focus is on the action and the characters at times don't feel fully fleshed out or come across kind of stereotypical but it really doesn't matter than much here. The story is exciting, the film moves forward at a brisk pace, and there's lot of train, car chase, and helicopter action as they try and find a way to stop this barreling forward out of control unmanned train, an error caused by wholly incompetent rail yard employees. Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson are fine here as leads. Lively action story. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Drive (2011): A darkly mysterious getaway driver (Ryan Gosling), part-time movie stuntman, and mechanic lands himself in a world of trouble when he decides to help the recently released from prison Standard (Oscar Isaac), a neighbor, with a heist. The driver had previously befriended Standard's wife Irene (Carey Mulligan) and son Benicio (Kaden Leos) while Standard had been in prison.

Well for me personally, this was pretty disappointing. Despite a good soundtrack and what seemed like a promising opening, the film descends into unpleasant over the top gore and violence as basically every character, aside from Irene and her son, pretty much turns out to be a psychopath plotting the vicious, and I do mean vicious, murder of pretty much every character in the film. There was no character to sympathize with in this, except Irene who comes across as too naive and doe-eyed most of the time. If you're a fan of mindless ultra-violence and gore, you might like this. To me, it killed the vibe for which the film seemed to be aiming. I was also disappointed by the lack of car chases, etc. This film wasn't really telling a story, it was just an exercise in showcasing gory killings. Not my cup of tea at all. ** out of ***** stars.

[Alex]

Kristi decided we were having a bad movie day on Sunday, so we went through Batman (the one from 1966), no matter how many times I watch it I just can't stop laughing at the shark on his leg, which lead on to Sharknado 2 (couldn't find the first one at this point and every time Kristi wants to watch bad movies she wants to see Sharknado), Sharknado (it was cunningly hiding exactly where it should have been it turned out) & From Beyond (anything with Jeffery Combes in it is always enjoyable).

[Jack]

Las Vegas Bloodbath (1989) - a guy catches his wife cheating on him so he kills her and her boyfriend, then goes to Las Vegas and finds a house where a women's oil wrestling team lives and proceeds to kill all of them too. This was...well after the topless scene with the pregnant woman I don't ever want to see boobs again in my life. I'm just watching Disney movies from now on. The rest of it was beyond cheap. The acting was laughably awful, and the camera and sound work was like something out of a home movie of a Thanksgiving dinner. Almost the entire movie was padding - we get an in-real-time scene of the killer driving around Vegas, then at least a half hour of the oil wrestling girls sitting around talking, then a nice long video of their latest wrestling match lol. 2/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Jack- that sounds incredible

[Jack]

Jack- that sounds incredible

Seek it out if you must but don't say I didn't warn you  

[claws]

Jack- that sounds incredible

Bad movie fave of mine. I think I recommended it to Jack once.

Dark Skies (2013)

Young family living in the suburbs are facing money issues plus their teenage son is in the rebellious phase, while the youngest son seems to be haunted by a boogey man of some sorts called "Mr. Sandman." Things get complicated when supernatural activity occurs in their home, leaving the parents with no other choice but to contact an expert - who reveals disturbing news.
A Paranormal Activity clone on the surface, though Dark Skies goes actually a bit deeper. Engaging plot and characters, a bit coming-of-age and a few genuine scary moments. The ending was a little weak for my taste, with a faint hint for a possible sequel. 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

We Are The Best (2013) - Swedish tweens start a punk band in the 1980's. It doesn't look or feel like the 1980's much at all. Isn't it just like millenials to go back in time to some Potempkin 80's where there's no danger and everyones happy and it's all about THEM?

The girls' characters don't have much depth. In their defense they're like 12. They mostly just tween around being cute outcasts and having girl power. I'm being cynical here but it's just to say that while I appreciate variety, this was a bit of a stretch for me. It's an okay slice of life thing that is drawn from a comic book done by the directors wife. good for them. I'd rather watch a horror movie maybe I'm set in my ways.

Their song "Hate the sport" was pretty good but in general it was too relentlessy upbeat for me and there was no cinematography to speak of like the dang Shaw Brothers or something. If you have a 12 year old who likes reading subtitles check it out.

3.75 /5

[Jack]

Marina Monster (2008) - so there's what looks like a three foot plastic shark floating around a marina and people keep falling in the water. First one person falls in, then the camera shakes which for some reason I can't fathom causes their companions to also fall in. Nobody says anything about all the deaths though because there's a big yacht race coming up. This was going for almost a Troma level of stupidity - camera zooms in on the cleavage (of which there is lots) and a foghorn sound plays - but I found it all a bit charming. I watched it on Amazon Instant Video and was surprised that the video quality was as good as a regular DVD; it seems like it would be more at home as a 360p YouTube video. 3.5/5.

The Touch (2002) - sort of an Indiana Jones type thing with a girl who comes from a long line of acrobats teaming up with a very talented thief to retrieve a Chinese artifact that's been stolen by some bad guys. It had a nice sense of humor to it and there were plenty of exotic locations. Lots of martial arts fights played a bit for laughs and a special effects-heavy climax. Pretty enjoyable overall. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

LA BELLE CAPTIVE (1983): A man who works for a mysterious organization meets an alluring woman who may be a vampire, or a ghost, or a dream. This surreal mystery with no solution, inspired by the paintings of Rene Magritte, bleeds art; obviously not for everyone, but devotees of the form should find it a superior effort. 3.5/5.