Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

HEAD (1968): The Monkees---yeah, the pre-fab TV comedy band---star in a series of druggy, absurd sketches that see them fighting in a war with linebacker Ray Nitsche, in the old West with a giant Victor Mature, trapped inside of a giant metal box, and so on. This scenario was designed by director Bob Rafelson (who would make the classic FIVE EASY PIECES next!) with the specific intent of destroying the Monkees wholesome teenage image, and although it has its moments, it's more interesting as an I-can't-believe-they-made-it curiosity than as a comedy. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade" (2007)

http://youtu.be/xmO2qvRgOV4
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This documentary looks back on the glory days of video game arcades and catches up with a select group of high scoring kids who dreamed of becoming "professional" gamers - before the Great Video Game Crash of '83 wiped everything out and they had to face the "real" world.  Some have faced it better than others.
This flick works as a companion piece to The King of Kong, since it features a lot of the same people: kids who were famous for fifteen minutes in the '80s but have grown up into some seriously sad-sack mofo's who have obviously never kissed a woman.
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be thankful that none of these guys live next door to you.

[lester1/2jr]

Contact (1997) - This is definitely the best movie I've seen in while. I've always liked Jody Foster and here she does it again. I guess some people might have wanted a few more and bigger loves scenes but she is...uh...Jody after all and Matthew Mcconaughey is a little wimpy and weird in this one anyway. Maybe certain of the special effects could have been more impressive and as always James Woods one note a***ole character is a little ridiculous but what are you gonna do. It's from a short story by Carl Sagan and is better than many of us probably deserve

5/5

[Jack]

See No Evil 2 (2014) - so the gigantic psycho killer (WWF wrestler Kane) and his victims from the first movie are all taken to the morgue. The people at the morgue happen to be having a birthday party for one of their employees that night, so there's victims o' plenty when it turns out the killer isn't really dead. This was a pretty good slasher, the characters had plenty of character, the atmosphere in the large morgue building was pretty good, and the killings were brutal. Only stupid thing was that Kane had a habit of showing up wherever his victims least expected him, to the point where it was ridiculous. Oh well, still 4/5 material.

Kronos (1957) - aliens send a huge machine to earth to suck up all our power, and it's up to a group of scientists to figure out how to stop it before it sucks the planet dry. This wasn't bad, at only a bit over an hour long it moved along well enough. The alien machine was cool looking. 3/5.

[Jack]

Warlock: The Armageddon aka Warlock 2 (1993) - the warlock is back and this time he needs to collect some magic gems and once he's got the full set he can bring Satan to earth and take over the world. It's up to a guy and his hot girlfriend to stop him - they're part of an ancient Druid warrior sect with mental powers but they don't know it until their parents let them in on the secret. This was kind of slow moving through most of it; could have used a lot more of the hot babe and a lot less of the guy and his doofy dad, but things picked up nicely with an action-packed climax. 3.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon" (aka "Mansion of Madness," 1973)

http://youtu.be/JJpwdYiNLcc
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Godawful boring Z-Grade Mexican horror flick set in a 19th century insane asylum. When a journalist visits the facility to interview the head doctor about a supposed breakthrough he's made in mental health care, he eventually realizes that the inmates have taken over the place. Slow paced, extremely talky and not horrific at all. AVOID.

[lester1/2jr]

Cobra - "You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra" Nas said way back in 1892 or whenever Illmatic came out. It's a cool movie but kind of between two worlds. Stallone and Brigitte Neilson were both A List actors at this point and this movie isn't exactly A List. It's a Golum Globus however you say it production and looks like a decent if cheesy cable action movie. The plot is thin it's these weird people who have formed some kind of apocalyptic cult. We never see why or how or what it means they are just like mad or something.

Stallone and Nielson are A list, the movie is b list that's pretty much it. It probably would have been more fun with a karate guy in the lead and a trashy (er) love interest and more all around sleaziness and chicanery. Also if you have Brigette Neilson you don't put her in a turtleneck sweater for the whole damn movie.

I expected more, particularly with Stallone as screenwriter it's not Rocky here!

3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

PLANET OUTLAWS (1939/1953): Explorer Buck Rodgers and sidekick are accidentally frozen in suspended animation while on an expedition the North Pole; when he is thawed 500 years later, he helps rebels forge an alliance with Saturn to defeat the dictator "Killer Kane." A 1930s serial atrociously edited together fifteen years later to make a feature; they cut out all the exciting parts! 1.5/5.

[JaseSF]

The Final Season (2007): This tells the story of the final season of the Norway High School baseball team (in Iowa) who are trying to continue a winning tradition in the face of their school closing and being merged with another and their beloved head coach Jim Van Scoyoc (Powers Boothe) getting replaced by his assistant Kent Stock (Sean Astin). Can Stock inspire the players to one final winning season?

This was a surprisingly enjoyable little baseball film apparently based on a true story. It's an inspiring story about team spirit and the will of people in a small town to hold on to their way of life for as long as possible. Good acting and a good story definitely helps. Only flaw really is Rachel Leigh Cook seems miscast in her role and you can tell some events are exaggerated for dramatic effect. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Treasure Planet (2002): Young Jim Hawkins seems to always be getting into trouble. Somehow he ends up as cabin boy on a galleon spaceship in a wondrous journey sailing across the universe and befriends the ship's cyborg cook John Silver, only Silver is hiding some plans of his own and it's all about finding a way to locate and steal a fortune in treasure.

Basically this is Treasure Island set in space and updates for a more modern audience. It's surprisingly good and enjoyable as it manages to somehow keep all the best elements of the classic story and adds some amazing futuristic, fanciful visuals, kind of a blending of the past and the future. This one is squarely more in the realm of science fantasy than science fiction but a good and arguably underrated little Disney movie. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Atlantis: the Lost Empire (2001): Young Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox) has big dreams of adventure hoping to continue his grandfather's lifelong search for the lost city of Atlantis. While the university refuses to fund his planned exhibition. However his father's old friend and ally Preston B. Whitmore is more than willing to help him continue his grandfather's search. However some of the crew of mercenaries assembled to help Thatch may have agendas of their own.

This was another surprisingly good and underrated little Disney Sci-Fi adventure film. It has some really nice visuals as well and some surprisingly shapely and attractive animated ladies. The story really isn't too bad either. Surprisingly action-packed too this one. ***3/4 out of ***** stars.

[claws]

Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

Labor Day Weekend, 1987: Matt is working at Suncoast Video inside a mall, hooks up with his high school crush Tori and goes to a wild party with his twin sister Wendy and his best friend Barry. Hilarity ensures when Barry tries cocaine for the first time, resulting in a sweaty dance battle and an awkward threesome mini-orgy.

This was like a pet project for Topher Grace (That '70s Show) paying homage to 1980s movies. TMHT feels a bit off or uneven at times, like a few scenes were filmed in post production and inserted into the already finished movie. The choice of music is pretty good but doesn't always gel with a scene it was intended for. And why they didn't use Eddie Money's song remains a odd mystery. Interesting: the film was completed in 2006/2007 but not released until 2011. Apparently the studio had issues with the drug use and were aiming for PG-13. 3.75/5

[lester1/2jr]

Juwanna Mann (2002) - I vaguely remember Juwanna Man being used as a put down for black women years ago. Other than that I didn't know anything about this. It's one of the comedies that isn't very funny but is solid enough plot wise that it's not too hard to get through. What it really lacks though is style. The director and script seem like they're determined to be as predictable and give the studio what it wants as they can which makes it not every exciting for the viewer. You don't have to be Borat but you need SOME irreverence. wouldn't really rec but it was interesting and the lead guy looks more like a woman than the "white chicks" looked like white chicks. I'm not gonna watch that one 3/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Raiders of Atlantis" (aka "Atlantis Interceptors," 1983)

http://youtu.be/Kzerr-ewB7A
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A scientific experiment on the ocean floor accidentally raises the lost island of Atlantis - and its remaining inhabitants, a gang of face painted, leather clad, ultra-violent primitives ala "The Road Warrior," decide it's time for them to re-conquer the surface world. 
This ultra-schlocky Italian action flick from Ruggero ("Cannibal Holocaust") Deodato features wall-to-wall fistfights, gun battles and car chases in the apparent hope that viewers won't notice that it doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

[Rev. Powell]

THE LAST DRAGON (1985): "Bruce Leroy" (!), a kung fu student in Harlem, searches for a master to achieve "the glow," while defending a music video hostess (Vanity) from an evil businessman and his army of toughs. This slightly batty mixture of blaxploitation and kung fu tropes, done in the innocent 80s spirit of THE KARATE KID, blooms with guilty camp pleasures. You could go as high as 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Hustler Squad" (aka "The Dirty Half Dozen," 1976)

http://youtu.be/PLQshwgbCiw
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Ultra-low-budget exploitation cheez set in WWII. The U.S. drafts a quartet of women with nothing to lose for a special mission: posing as prostitutes at a secret island hideaway so they can assassinate members of the Japanese high command. Not nearly as fun as it sounds due to the wooden acting and cheap-as-hell production values (even though it's World War II, everyone wears '70s hairstyles and fashions) ...but once the shooting starts it's entertaining enough.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS" (1975)

http://youtu.be/9OIQg_hk3F4
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The notorious Big Kahuna of the "Nazi-sploitation" genre, "Ilsa" is a platinum-blonde, big boobed commandant of a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp who uses her captives for her own perverse pleasures and to further her private inhumane research. This one's got it all, kids  - wall to wall nudity, sex, gang rape, humiliation, castration, mutilation, all manners of torture, splashy red gore and even more. This is easily the sickest movie I've seen in quite a while, it makes most so-called "exploitation" films of the 70s look like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." I feel like I need to take a shower now!! :D