Recent viewings

[Oldskool138]

John Malkovich plays the evil king effortlessly.  He doesn't even have to try hard and you just want to punch him.  But such is his talent I guess.

For all you Kubrick fans out there check out Colour Me Kubrick starring John Malkovich.  It's directed by one Kubrick's close friends and cinematographers.  It's a great homage to the master (lots of similar shots and music from all Kubrick's classics) and is based on a true story about a guy who pretended to be Stanley Kubrick to con a bunch of people even though he looked and acted nothing like him.

[HappyGilmore]

The Muppets Take Manhattan- ***/****.  Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the gang are just out of college and have a show they'd love to sell on Broadway.  They head to New York with limited money and attempt to sell it, but meet shady agents and get rejected by every producer, so the gang splits up and get real jobs to earn money.  Great movie, and directed by Frank Oz.  I loved the Gregory Hines cameo and the live action "Muppet Babies" sequence that, apparently, worked as a 'pilot' to see if Muppets as babies would work. 

[JaseSF]

The Inspector General (1949): An illiterate buffoon named Georgi (Danny Kaye), part of a traveling Gypsy medicine sideshow in Eastern Europe somehow winds up mistaken for the all-powerful, visiting Inspector General whose assignment from Emperor Napoleon is to root out all evil and corruption in every town he visits. Of course, the town's officials, thoroughly corrupt to the core, are terrified by his presence and do everything they can to impress him and throw him off their trail. Georgi meanwhile is thoroughly confused but not above accepting the good hospitality especially given how hungry and down on his luck he's been. Of course, being an Inspector General also means you're a target and much danger looms for Georgi.

No mistaking this is the Danny Kaye show all the way. The rest of the cast including Elsa Lancaster, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale and Walter Slezak are all good no doubt but it's Kaye's singing, dancing and comedy routines that prove this film's main focus. How much you enjoy it probably depends on how much you enjoy Kaye's brand of humor. I have to admit at times it goes on much too long, almost to the point of annoyance, but there's a kind of innocence about Kaye's Georgi character here that one is able to ultimately forgive this more often than not. Favorite bits: The "Be Arrogant, Be Elegant, Be Smart" section and the Gyspy drinking song. *** out of ***** stars.

The Paleface (1922): After having their land unscrupulously stolen from them by greedy oil sharks, a tribe of Native American Indians vows to kill the next white man who comes into their presence. Said white man turns out to be an unknowing Buster Keaton seeking butterflies for his collection.

This movie is basically a live-action cartoon. It features the type of chase and stunt sequences one more expects from Looney Tunes only here its accomplished in live action via a series of daring stunts and surprisingly well accomplished special effects sequences. These are pulled off much better than I though would be even possible for the time and era.

Overall this short may not be as humorous as many of Keaton's other efforts but it sure doesn't lack in terms of its overall entertainment value due to the above mentioned dangerous stunt sequences that seem more fitting for a cartoon than live action, the best of which involves Buster being thrown over a cliff and creating a makeshift bridge across a gorge. **1/2 out of ***** stars.

[JaseSF]

That Gang of Mine (1940): Streetwise Muggs Maloney (Leo Gorcey) has dreams of becoming a world class jockey and finally gets his chance after befriending a kindly old poor black man named Ben (Clarence Muse) who just happens to possess and take care of a championship thoroughbred race horse.

This movie proves far more dramatic than most East Side Kids films with a fine performance from Clarence Muse as wise old Ben, who acts as a sort of adviser/mentor for Muggs and shows considerable care for him, something which is not lost on Leo Gorcey's Muggs either. The type of friendship displayed here was arguably ahead of its time in many respects. Leo Gorcey too does surprisingly well in this more dramatic role displaying the inner struggle going on in Muggs when he has to try and come to grips with his fear of racing and also his fear of letting everyone down.

While no doubt some may be a bit disappointed the humor more or less takes a back seat to the drama in this one, it actually proves a far more effective drama, and director Joseph H. Lewis does manage to keep an exciting focus on the horse racing too, than I thought was possible from many involved. *** out of ***** stars

[Jack]

Blood Monkey - a Sci-Fi Channel original.  Some college kids are taken to a remote jungle where they're going to do their internship under a professor, examining flora and fauna and other harmless stuff.  Well, the professor has discovered a new species of primates, giant monkeys with large brains, and he's willing to do anything to capture one and get recognition for the discovery.  Up to and including using the college kids for bait.

I found myself rooting for the evil professor and his Asian henchbabe.  They were the only characters who were even the slightest bit interesting in the movie.  The college kids are straight cliches:  jock dude, nerd boy, quiet guy, pretty girl, homely girl, and "what up?" girl.  I correctly guessed who would be the last to survive about 20 minutes into the movie.  There's some camcorder footage throughout the movie, and they also ripped off the ending to Blair Witch just for good measure.  Overall, I'm somewhat amazed I stayed awake through the whole thing.  The cinematography was the best part, there was some beautiful jungle scenery and it didn't feel as if the whole thing was taking place on a sound stage.  The giant monkeys were bargain basement CGI, but we saw very little of them.  Mostly just red tinted POV shots.

[Torgo]

Rambo  (2007)   ***1/2 out of ****
The Terminator   **** out of ****
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (theatrical cut) ***1/2 out of ****
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines   *** out of ****

[Rev. Powell]

SLEEPER (1973): Health-food store owner Miles Monroe (director Woody Allen) is accidentally frozen for 200 years and wakes up in a weird future dystopia where Diane Keaton is not considered too annoying to be a female lead. It's a lot of fun as a collection of one liners ("I haven't had sex for 200 years... 204 if you count my marriage") and slapstick bits that recall the great silent comedians, though the plot is little more than a framework to hang "bits" off of.  LESSON LEARNED: 166 years in the future, cars will look like those plastic eggs they sell pantyhose in.  4 of 5 slimes.

EXCALIBUR (1981): A gory, sexy, beautifully photographed epic retelling of the legend of King Arthur and Merlin (a memorable comic/tragic performance by Nicol Williamson).  An A-movie cast and budget but with the heart of a B-movie, it bulls its bloody way forward, driving the helpless audiences before it.  LESSON LEARNED: In the Dark Ages, sperm were so powerful they could easily penetrate plate mail armor to father an heir. 5 of 5.

THE CREEPING TERROR (MST3K version):  The movie features a Chineese-dragon style alien  monster that may have been made out of discarded mattresses.  It truly does creep, VERY slowly, so slowly in fact that it is totally incapable of arousing terror.  "Didn't anyone in the 50s ever think of running?," Mike wonders, although a brisk trot or simply not climbing directly into the monsters' mouth should be a sufficient escape plan.  The monster attacks on their own are hilarious, and the bots commentary helps through the slow patches, of which there are many.  Host segments, which include the Mads doing laundry and Mike listening to the film's music on a high-end stereo system, are nothing special.  4 of 5.

[Rev. Powell]

Rambo  (2007)   ***1/2 out of ****

Sorry, Torgo, I have to admit I'm skeptical of that rating without further explanation...

[Killer Bees]

Nightwatch (the Russian one)

This was a weird arse movie.  I'm still not sure whether I liked it or not.  The story was a little slow and hard to follow because not much was explained.  When I thought about the plot after it was over, I got it, but it was hard work watching it.  The dubbing kind of put me off as well and the subtitles weren't that great.

The sfx were amazing and much better than I thought the Russians could do.  But I didn't realise the movie biz in Russia even existed.

All I can say is, I'm quite mystified by the whole experience.


Pan's Labyrinth
This was a wonderful movie. Even though it had subtitles, I liked this one better than Nightwatch.  The story was well done and the little girl who played Ofelia did a great job.  The Captain was a prick and played the part well, and the movie ended quite satisfactorily for me.  I felt emotionally fulfilled and it stayed with me for a few days.

It was beautifully shot and the story moved along at a decent pace, so I didn't feel bored or restless.  I wasn't sure if I'd like this movie because it got such a great rap from so many people.  That's usually when I find that I don't like the movie at all.  But I was pleasantly surprised and I thought "del Toro has done it again!"

This one I can highly recommend.

[Torgo]

Rambo  (2007)   ***1/2 out of ****

Sorry, Torgo, I have to admit I'm skeptical of that rating without further explanation...

I was short on time and didn't have a chance to explain.

Anyone wanting a return to the full blooded (and bloody) action flicks of days gone by will love this one. If avoids the pitfalls of the 2nd and espcially 3rd Rambo films and like Rocky Balboa it bookends the series in great fashion.

The story was well done, Stallone's performance was cold faced but nuanced when need be (well, as much as  a Rambo movies calls for), the action scenes were extremely well orchestrated and the last 30 or so minutes of the movie is gory balls to the wall action that I haven't seen like that in quite some time.

Hope that explains a bit!

[Rev. Powell]

Rambo  (2007)   ***1/2 out of ****

Sorry, Torgo, I have to admit I'm skeptical of that rating without further explanation...

I was short on time and didn't have a chance to explain.

Anyone wanting a return to the full blooded (and bloody) action flicks of days gone by will love this one. If avoids the pitfalls of the 2nd and espcially 3rd Rambo films and like Rocky Balboa it bookends the series in great fashion.

The story was well done, Stallone's performance was cold faced but nuanced when need be (well, as much as a Rambo movies calls for), the action scenes were extremely well orchestrated and the last 30 or so minutes of the movie is gory balls to the wall action that I haven't seen like that in quite some time.

Hope that explains a bit!

Didn't mean to challenge you Torgo... your tastes seem to match mine most of the time.  You also do I nice job summing up why you liked a movie in a few sentences, and I missed the commentary.

It seemed to me that if RAMBO was a ***1/2 movie, that would make it the best of the series by far.  Sounds like you thought it was.  I may check it out when it comes out on DVD.  Thanks for elaborating!

[Torgo]

Didn't mean to challenge you Torgo... your tastes seem to match mine most of the time.  You also do I nice job summing up why you liked a movie in a few sentences, and I missed the commentary.

It seemed to me that if RAMBO was a ***1/2 movie, that would make it the best of the series by far.  Sounds like you thought it was.  I may check it out when it comes out on DVD.  Thanks for elaborating!

I didn't take it as a challenge, no worries.  Yes, I do think that it's the best of the series.  Whereas I thought that Rocky Balboa was the 2nd best of the Rocky series with the original being the best still.

[HappyGilmore]

Didn't mean to challenge you Torgo... your tastes seem to match mine most of the time.  You also do I nice job summing up why you liked a movie in a few sentences, and I missed the commentary.

It seemed to me that if RAMBO was a ***1/2 movie, that would make it the best of the series by far.  Sounds like you thought it was.  I may check it out when it comes out on DVD.  Thanks for elaborating!

I didn't take it as a challenge, no worries.  Yes, I do think that it's the best of the series.  Whereas I thought that Rocky Balboa was the 2nd best of the Rocky series with the original being the best still.

What about 4?  That had Drago.  He owns.   

[Jack]

Moontrap - Bruce Campbell and Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) battle alien robots on the moon.  I love this movie, it's weird, doesn't take itself terribly seriously, and really manages to create an atmosphere of desperation when the nearly helpless earthlings are stranded on the moon. 

Ninja 3:  The Domination - A dead Ninja possesses the sole of a hot babe, and she goes on a killing spree, taking out all the cops who killed the Ninja.  She also dates a cop, and he can't figure out that his girlfriend is killing all his friends.  It's part Ninja movie, part Exorcist, with a bit of Flashdance thrown in on the side.  A seriously silly, enjoyably bad film.

Manticore - a Sci-Fi Original with that guy who played Chakotay on Star Trek Voyager as an Army Sergeant in Iraq.  His squad is sent to investigate the disappearance of a reporter in a remote town, but they run into the Manticore, a giant CGI dog with wings thing.  Not bad for a Sci-Fi Original.  The ending is sure to make anyone chuckle, but it has the requisite amount of bad CGI explosions, people running around scared, and occasional Manticore attacks.

[HappyGilmore]

The Devil's Rejects- Great movie.  I loved House of 1,000 Corpses, so I wanted to see this.  Great soundtrack, action, etc.  Rob Zombie is a good director in my opnion.  He's improved, House was okay, this was an improvement.

The Mighty Ducks- **.  Classic movie in my opinon.