Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE LAST SUNSET (1961): Lawman Stribling (Rock Hudson) tracks killer O'Malley (Kirk Douglas) into Mexico, and upon finding him they make an agreement to drive a herd of cattle to Texas with a female rancher (Dorothy Malone) who is O'Malley's old lover. Fairly engaging Western with a twist ending and a morally complex performance by Douglas as a desperado poet. It's a long time since I watched a classic Western and it was nice to reconnect with the genre. 3.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Rapture-Palooza" (2013)

http://youtu.be/9oaS_N1zsqo
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A young Seattle couple (Anna "Pitch Perfect" Kendrick and John Francis Daley of "Bones") who were "left behind" after the Rapture are just trying to find their way in the new post-apocalypse world -- then their relationship is put to the ultimate test when they meet Satan (Craig Robinson), who wants to take Kendrick as his bride.
A very raunchy, very funny end-of-the-world comedy with a great cast; definitely not for the kiddies, the overly religious or the easily offended.

[lester1/2jr]

^ I saw that. I thought it was pretty good but sort of like a bunch of jokes around the theme rather than a really thought out statement or something. like they are talented people but they didn't spend all that much time or energy on it, which is okay.

Hangover Square (1945) - I had seen the last scene of this once and thought it was incredible but it was a long time ago and I didn't catch the name of it. I happened to rent this because the hot film noir chick in some other movie I saw is in it and this was her only other movie that wasn't a western or musical or something. This is sold as a film noir too, but it's more of just a horror movie and a good one.

A composer guy in 1903 England happens to catch the act of an attractive if marginally talented saloon singer and falls for her. She uses her feminine wiles to get him to spend money on her and put down writing his symphony thing so he can write corny tin pan alley songs for her. He has another more pressing problem though: he's a psychopathic killer! This isn't a spoiler you learn it right away. This element definitely works formally but it's a bit of a stretch to believe, if only medically that he could like strangle someone then be like "oh what am I doing in this park" I've never heard of that.

That said it's really good and goes for the jugular as much as a non monster horror movie from 1945 can. and again, the ending is a masterpiece. If you're a big film noir fan hoping to see something more sort of French and/ or beatnik-y you might be disappointed, but no complaints here

5/5

[lester1/2jr]

Wrong Turn at Tahoe (2009) - This movie plumbed the depths of mafia movie cliches and bit the stylings of Tarantino and others in more ways than I can count but somehow I still enjoyed it. Cuba Gooding jr is the right hand man of unhinged mob guy Miguel Ferrer. They get into it with a mobster who unfortunately for them is Harvey Keitel. junkies, hot mistresses and strip clubs color the landscape. There is no wrong turn or Tahoe it's just a gangster movie.

Did you know all the guys in organized crime talk like screenwriters who have memorized Reservoir Dogs? I see on IMDB this has some bad ratings and one could choose to see it as a turkey simply for the pile of cliches it presents as homeade goods. They even, you're not gonna believe this, tell the story of the frog and the scorpion! in a weird way though it all kind of works. it's not realistic but it is. The first half meanders a bit but once it settles down it's a decent diversion from Masters of Horror, Syfy, Criterion or whatever your usual thing is. I'd be curious as to what other people who have seen this thought.

3.5 /5 but it could have been 2 or 4.25

If you can get into stuff like Albino Alligator you might appreciate it plus it has Harvey Keitel

[Rev. Powell]

THE GOLDEN BLADE (1953): Harun comes to Baghdad to avenge his father's murder, finds a magic sword in a thrift shop (!), and gets involved with a strong-willed princess. Decent spectacle, cornball script. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

DEATH BY HANGING (1968): Executioners are nonplussed when a condemned man survives a hanging attempt and wakes up not remembering who he is; they then go to ridiculous lengths to recreate his crime so he will be cured of his amnesia and therefore of sound mind for another hanging. Japanese Kafka, the definition of gallows humor. 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Attack of Life: The Bang Tango Movie" (2015)

http://youtu.be/qa9DV9NrGJg
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Entertaining low budget documentary about the curiously long running cult '80s hair metal act, best remembered for the single "Someone Like You." Bang Tango's tales of almost-success, drugs, breakups, reformations and industry back-stabbing make for compelling viewing, but singer Joe LeSte' (the only original member still in the band today) comes off as a delusional control freak most of the time. By the end of the flick it's easy to see why he still can't keep a stable B.T. lineup together even to this day.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Jason X" (2001)

http://youtu.be/Kfg5U7I1HSQ
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The slasher genre meets sci-fi head on when Jason Voorhees is cryogenically frozen in the early 21st century, only to be defrosted by space-faring archaeologists in 2455.  Fortunately, teenagers are just as horny and stupid in the future as they are in the present day so Jason gets back to his old habits very quickly.  A lot of "Friday the 13th" fanboys hate this flick, but it's so bizarre and ridiculous that it's kind of awesome if you're in the right frame of mind for it. I find it works best if you treat it as a parody of the "F13" saga instead of another serious entry in the series.

[indianasmith]

This morning I watched BLACKOUT, an interesting flick about how quickly humanity descends into the abyss when our power goes out. Several intersecting subplots and a strong cast make this a much better film than it might have been. 4/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Deadlier than the Male" (1967)

http://youtu.be/5tvssqTmsT0
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A suave insurance investigator is on the case when several businessmen connected with a big oil-rights deal are murdered by a pair of beautiful female hired assassins (Elke Sommer and Sylvia Koscina). Based loosely on the long running "Bulldog Drummond" series of British adventure novels, this is one of the better Bond knockoffs I've seen lately, with above average production values and performances, and phenomenal eye candy!!

Useless trivia: Richard Johnson, who stars as "Drummond" was once in the running to play James Bond before Sean Connery got the role.

[Rev. Powell]

IN THE BASEMENT (2014): A documentary about secret hobbies Austrians keep in their basement, including a man with a shrine to the Nazis, a woman who cradles creepy lifelike newborn dolls, and multiple S&M devotees. A modern mondo movie done in a detached arthouse style, aimed at shock-seekers with strong stomachs. 2.5/5.

[Alex]

The Green Inferno: Ever since I saw Hostel I've been convinced that Eli Roth is capable of directing a finely crafted horror film that actually gives scares rather than relying on gore for shock value. If he is, then this isn't that movie. It wears in influences very openly, to the point where I was wondering if I was watching a new movie or a collection of clips from old ones. The film follows a bunch of activist students who travel to Peru to save a native tribe in the jungle from devellopers looking to forcably take their land. They think they are successful, but on the way home their plane crashes and they end up captured or killed by the very people they were trying to save. Quite quickly they discover the tribe are cannibals and the number of survivors quickly starts to dwindle. Its a fairly standard movie of its type with no outstandingly great moments (although equally I didn't see and animals being butchered just for the film either), although sometimes it did decend into being ridiculous ("Help me, they've got the munchies!" I am looking at you especially here).

Chappie: District 9 meets Short Circuit. I enjoyed it, although Kristi really didn't get the movie at all.

Crimson Peak: A gothic murder mystery with some ghostly goings on thrown in for good measure. Very nice visuals and a Mia Wit.... whatever his name is looking totally unrecognisable from when she played Alice for Tim Burton. For anyone with a thing for Tom Hiddleston he does flash his bum.

Freaks Of Nature: Vampires, humans, zombies and something else team up when aliens invade their town. Enjoyable enough horror comedy with a surprisingly familiar cast. More nakedness than Crimson Peak, but one of them is a zombie.

[Rev. Powell]

KUNG FU KIDS BREAK AWAY (1980): Three orphans---a kung fu prodigy, an annoying streetwise beggar, and a girl on the cusp of womanhood---join forces against an evil boss. The genuinely impressive, acrobatic kid fu is the highlight in this otherwise cliched action/comedy that relies on too much juvenile slapstick (I kept expecting to hear "Yakety Sax" play during the fight scenes). 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Some Girls Do" (1969)

http://youtu.be/NghbsyNFLUo
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Richard Johnson returns as suave investigator/James Bond knockoff Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond in this sequel to "Deadlier than the Male." This time he's assigned to find out who's sabotaging the test flights of a new supersonic airplane, and discovers an island paradise run by a madman with a private army of gorgeous, female robot soldiers. (I swear I am not making this up.) "Deadlier..." was a pretty straightforward spy flick, but "Some Girls Do" is more of  a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" style spoof. I preferred the first movie, but this was still an entertaining watch... especially for the eye candy (lotsa hot 60s chicks in micro-mini skirts and go-go-boots)!!

[lester1/2jr]

Lucky 13 (1984) aka Running Hot - Jack is kind of unpredictable but wherever he is I think he would like this. I did not but in a way I kind of did. It's really bad.

Eric Stolz is convicted of murder after he kills his own father under mysterious circumstances. a hooker with a heart of gold/ murderer groupie falls for him during the trial so the plot requires his improbable escape. this is accomplished via him shoving the cop a little bit and escaping. It tries to be a comedy for a little while and fails miserably. eventually it becomes and is largely sold as a lovers on the road type movie.

at one point, he goes to meet someone and theres a cop listening in on the call. this was the only bit of tension I can recall in the whole movie. it's mostly just them having these dumb jumbled conversations and going through the motions of the bad wacky plot. There's sexual innuendo in pretty much every scene and eventually a little nudity but the lady's boobs are a little weird despite her having a nice dancers body and being blonde. Plus the whole thing is kind of creepy. If I ran into these people I would not want to party with them. Stolz's movements and expression seem to say "when do I get to be in some kind of wonderful ". It would be a few years

serious junk though colorful at some points I guess. If you can get into stuff like that one where the vegas show girls go on a secret mission combined with like Corvette summer check it out.

2/5